Unwanted Fame
by Kae-sama
Summary: He's famous, and adored by every teenage girl..minus one. She's an average schoolgirl, who happens to hate celebrities. But when the 2 are forced together, some wonder if it's fate, or just plain hell
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: If I owned the characters, why on earth would I be here?

Well, it's the start of another fanfic. Hopefully you will all enjoy this one. For those of you returning to me, I told you I'd be back rather quickly! And for those of you who are new to me...great to have you. I'm in an exceptionally good mood today, despite my arm hurting like crazy. Anyway, let's get started!

Chapter 1: Revenge

0o0o0o0

"..and so, that is why you should join me in the fight against drugs and violence. I, Inuyasha Tenou, am part of the _Celebrities Against Drugs and Violence Organization_. Make your donation today for a better tomorrow!" The hanyou flashed his dazzling smile as all of the females in the audience cheered and screamed loud enough to deafen someone. Inuyasha turned back to the hostess of the show who, in return, smiled and stood up.

"Well, thank you, Inuyasha for coming on our show today." The woman turned to face the camera, "and don't leave folks, because our next guest is the lovely Ayame Sakai."She smiled the most put on smile until someone from crew yelled for a commercial break. Her smile dropped, and she started talking eagerly to the quick fixer-upper that shuffled from backstage to add a little more make up to her face. Being under those hot lights, you constantly have to put on more make up. Otherwise what you're wearing will smudge off with the slightest break of a sweat, and then you look like a ghost without the false color.

Inuyasha smiled and waved as he made his way off the set. As soon as he was out of the audiences view, he dropped the smile and replaced it with a scowl that he frequented. He shifted his eyes to the young woman that was walking towards him. "Oi, wench..gimme a cigarette, pronto!"

"Tsk, tsk, now. Inuyasha, not here. It's too risky after that speech of yours against drugs." The woman waved a perfectly manicured hand at him. "Plus, we're leaving as soon as Kagura finishes talking with the producer."

The hanyou raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "About what?" he growled. The woman shrugged and flipped some of her long, smooth raven hair off her shoulder. "I'm not sure exactly. All I know is-"

"Inuyasha! Kikyou! Let's go." The two named turned their attention to a woman near the studio exit. She had her arms crossed and was tapping one foot impatiently. "Well, are you coming? We don't have all day." She snapped.

"Keh," Inuyasha snorted, "I think you pull your hair back too tight." He walked past Kagura with Kikyou behind him.

"Well, you don't pull yours back enough." She retaliated.

"I don't pull mine back at **all**!" He yelled.

"Whatever. I just want to get out of here, so let's go." Kagura replied, following them back to the limo.

0o0o0o0

Two young boys sat on the living room floor of the Higurashi residence as their sisters struggled over geometry homework at the dining room table.

"Oi, sis! Look, it's **Inuyasha**! He's on tv!" the younger boy yelled. He turned his attention to the other boy. "He's so cool!"

"Souta, shut up! Sango's trying to help me! She can't concentrate with all your yelling!" his sister yelled back.

Sango looked at her friend and grinned. "**I** can concentrate just fine. It's **you** who's having trouble here, Kagome." She turned to her brother and said, "Kohaku, can you guys turn it down a little, please?"

The boy nodded and leaned for the remote, but stopped when he saw the screen. "Huh? Souta, look." The other boy stopped his glaring contest with Kagome and looked at the screen. "A..contest..?" There, on the screen was a contest to "win Inuyasha." Actually, you didn't win him, you and a friend got to stay at his mansions for three months during the summer. You spent one month at the Tenou home in the mountains, one month at their country estate, and the last month was spent at their humongous beach house. It was an all expenses payed trip, and it looked pretty awesome.

Souta grabbed a pen and a piece of paper and started scribbling something down. "Ano...Souta, you have to be at least 15 to enter."

"Yeah, I know, but I'm not the one that's entering...they are." He glared at his sister, who was currently sighing out of frustration and banging her head on the table.

By the time Souta was done, another commercial with the famous Inuyasha came on. Upon hearing his voice, Kagome stood up, stamped over to the tv, and kicked the power button to turn it off. "No one wants to hear his cocky voice! Go play outside or something!" Souta and Kohaku scrambled to their feet due to their fear of her expression, and the possible physical threats that would come in due time if they didn't listen to her.

"Yeah, whatever. I needed to do something out there anyway." Souta waved an envelope at her as he ran out the door, laughing as he, rather loudly, pulled it shut behind him. Kagome made note of the odd gleam in his eyes, but set her confusion aside and shook her head. "That couldn't be good." She mumbled.

"What?" Sango asked from the table, not catching what Kagome had said. "Mmm...it's nothing." The younger girl replied. _At least, I hope not._ She thought as she walked over to the table and grabbed up all of the papers.

"Let's forget about this homework crap and watch some 'Celebrities Most Embarrassing Moments.' I need something to cheer me up a bit." Sango rolled her eyes at her friend as the two plopped down on the couch to catch a few good laughs.

0o0o0o0

"Souta (huff, huff) Do...do ya think this is (huff, huff)...is such a good idea? Umph!" Kohaku crashed into the back of his friend, who suddenly stopped in front of the post box.

"You know how much she hates famous people," Souta said as he slipped the entry letter through the slot, "especially Inuyasha. And you know how mean she is to me." Kohaku, still confused, just nodded his head. The younger boy continued, "Just think of it...as...the Ultimate Revenge."

0o0o0o0

"Just think of it as revenge, Inuyasha." Kagura sad behind a devious smile, crossing her hands as she leaned forward on her desk. Inuyasha stared wide eyed at his manager. _How could she?_ He thought, _how could she ruin my life like this!_

"Three months? Are you insane!" Inuyasha yelled, abruptly sitting up in his chair. "The last thing I need is some stupid, ugly, annoying, obsessive, schoolgirl staring at me all googly-eyed for three whole months! **What** were you thinking?" He clenched his fist, ready to rip that smug look off of Kagura's flawless face.

"You could use the promotion." She replied matter-of-factly, turning her nose away from him.

"Promotion...**pro**...**mo**...**tion**!" Inuyasha growled. "I don't **need** promotion, everybody loves me! No, they **adore** me! I don't need some little brat to further promote me!" His amber orbs flashed dangerously as he glared at his manager, who remained unphased. Thus, enacted a glaring contest between the two.

"I think it's a good idea." Kikyou said, unable to bear the seething silence much longer.

Inuyasha jerked his attention to her. "What?" he hissed venomously.

"It may break you of some of your...bad habits. Such as-" she started, but was rudely interrupted.

"I don't have any bad habits." Inuyasha snorted, shifting his gaze to the carpeted floor of the office, seemingly capable of burning a hole through it with his fiery glare.

Kikyou narrowed her eyes, "Also...you need to be around your fans. You know, show them that you're a...uh...good person."

Inuyasha's eyes became slits as they darted up to meet Kikyou's face. Their eyes locked for a moment, an unknown message passing between them.

"Forget you two!" Inuyasha snapped. He stood up quickly, knocking over his chair which clattered against the wall before falling to the floor with a light thud. He stormed out, slamming the large double doors behind him.

Kikyou and Kagura both let out an audible sigh once the slam's echo ceased. Kagura placed her forefinger and ring finger on her temples and began to gently massage them. "That went better than I ever expected." She looked up at Kikyou, "How long before we have a winner?" She asked.

"I think tomorrow's the last day we're accepting entries. Then they sift through them, which, with the computers, should only take about a day. After that, they send ten of those to Mr. and Mrs. Tenou, who choose the winner." Kikyou said, all the while, playing with a charm on her bracelet.

Kagura leaned back in her chair and looked out of the window. The house was quite a way from the city, but you could still see the large buildings of Tokyo across the horizon. "Someone should clean that window...Kikyou?"

"I'll get someone on it right now." Kikyou said as she stood up to leave. Before shutting the door behind her, she turned back to Kagura. "Would you like me to send someone to bring you some Advil?" she asked.

"Please do." Kagura replied exhausted from the day, and fearing the next few to come. Preparation for the guests would be a bit of a migraine. Dealing with Inuyasha and the guests would be complete murder.

0o0o0o0

Ok, that's all for the moment. It's not much, but...I felt like stopping there. The next day will be sorting through the letters and all that crap. It should get interesting. I may be able to fit the meeting in there. I should have it posted before the weekend if I'm able, because I'm going to my best friend's graduation. I have exams Monday-Wednesday, which leaves Thursday and Friday to write.

I started this a long time ago, but just finished it a few months ago, before I even started the 20th chapter of _No, It's Not Right_. So I figured I'd make something out of it, because it seemed to have some potential. Hopefully it will live up to what I want it to be )

So, you know what to do now. Review please. I know there are other fics out there like this. I've read a few, so I know what not to put in. I don't want to seem as if I'm copying them, because that was not my intention when starting this. I had the idea in my head about halfway through doing _No, It's Not Right,_ and long before I even read another fic like it So please don't tell me how it's like someone else's, because I plan to have some more twists to it. All I want to know is if you like it so far.

Thanks much! Kae-sama


	2. And the Winner Is

Disclaimer: I own a car now! Yes, Kae-sama just got her licence! But she doesn't have Inuyasha. Sorry folks.

Sorry this took so long. Want an excuse? Ok. Well, I had to practice for the road test, and that included parallel parking, which I am not to swift at. Then I had a lot of work around the house to do. Housework is another thing on my list. I have a social life. And..I just now got around to it. Yeah, they may not be very valid, but I've been busy.

Chapter 2: And the Winner Is...

0o0o0o0

Izayoi flipped through assorted papers and envelopes as her husband's head rolled to the side in his sleep. She never could figure out how someone could sleep sitting in a chair, no matter how comfortable it is. She smiled slightly, remembering how they had met.

0o0o0o0

It was an awards ceremony, and they were both the newest in the acting field. She was staring up at the humongous building where the event was being held when someone crashed into the back of her. She nearly fell forward when a strong had pulled her back against a firm chest. Her cheeks turned a light crimson hue and she struggled to get out of the grip.

"P-pardon me, sir!" The beautiful young actress yelled after her captor released her. She gasped though, after catching site of the gorgeous golden orbs staring back at her. They seemed to have an amused expression within their molten depths. She didn't catch the next thing he said, but she saw his mouth move, which let her know he had said something, releasing her from her gaze. "I'm sorry, what?" She mused, admiring his silver locks that fell perfectly over his broad shoulders.

The boy laughed. "I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention. The fault is all mine. Could you ever find it in your heart to forgive me?" He held his hand out, indicating her to place hers in his. She narrowed her eyes a bit, and cautiously, gave him her delicate hand. "I believe I may be able to forgive you." She answered cautiously.

He grinned, revealing perfectly white canines that glistened in the bright lights that surrounded them. "Thank you, lovely maiden," he gently kissed the top of her hand, causing her to blush again and jerk her hand away from his light grip. "I'm Inutaishou by the way. May I have a name to place with a face as beautiful as yours?" He said, his grin widening upon her reaction.

"My-my name?" Izayoi stumbled over her words, as she tried to remember her name. Her head was in a spinning, girlishdaze. _I've never seen such a pretty guy before. He's a demon, but even still...I didn't know they were so...so gorgeous!_ "Umm..my name, right. I'm...my name is Izayoi." She gave a sheepish smile as she looked at this, Inutaishou, character before her.

"Well, Izayoi, maybe we'll see each other again." He winked, making her knees buckle, and then he continued walking down the red carpet toward the entrance. _Maybe...hopefully we'll see each other again._ She shook her head, emptying them of the thoughts of the strange, yet alluring, demon boy. After glancing around to make sure no one payed any attention to their encounter, she straightened her back and headed for the door.

0o0o0o0

Izayoi chuckled. _Yes, he was quite the charmer back then._ She looked toward her sleeping husband, whose head was now leaning on the large desk and a bit of drool was dripping from his mouth on to some of the contest entry papers. The woman snorted, _that's **one **way to eliminate a few contestants._

She quickly grabbed one letter that was about to fall off the desk onto her perfectly immaculate floor. Nearly tossing it aside, she glanced at the name on the envelope. _Kagome Higurashi..._Her eyes widened and a grin tugged at her lips.

"Tai-tai! Look!" She shook her husband from his slumber and he looked at her with sleepy eyes.

"What is it, darling?" Inutaishou asked, still half asleep. He stretched his arms above his head as his wife shoved a letter in his face, screaming something about some girl. "Izayoi, calm down. What is it?" He grabbed the annoying letter from her grasp. "And stop waving that thing around." He said as he glanced fromthe parchment, thenback to her flawless face.

Izayoi excitedly pointed to the name. "Look...look at the name. This is her, Tai-tai...this is our winner." She searched her husband's face for an answer, waiting for him to respond. Inutaishou's mouth formed a small "o" as he looked at the paper in his clawed hand.

"So, it would seem we havefound our new guests." The demon turned to his wife with an unreadable expression. She gave him a weighty look, understanding the taciturn message that was relayedbetween them. Both of them questioned internally if this was the girl. _Is this the girl that can mend him? Is this the girl that can save him? Can she help him find what he could not find within himself? Or will this just be complete hell?_

0o0o0o0

It was a bright and clear afternoon in Tokyo. The birds flinched from branch to branch on the large tree overlooking the Higurashi shrine. They sang a soft, delicate song that was almost morose. Sango and Kagome sat on a bench that was shaded by the sacred tree, both enjoying the serene atmosphere for a short time, taking in what they could.

The Higurashi shrine was located on top of a hill, close to the city, but far enough to avoid the loud and busy noises of cars and passing people. Even still, there was always something going on at the shrine. Someone was always yelling, screaming, or running about. The boys weren't around though. They were at a classmate's birthday party. So their absence might havebeen a major contributution to the silence.

Sango poked her dazed friend, who gave her a fiery look in response. The older girl motioned toward the entrance to Kagome's home. Both girls looked at the woman at the door. She was young, and bore a striking resemblance to Kagome. She knocked at the door, but when no one answered, she proceeded to look around in hopes of finding someone. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught two bodies. Kagome's eyes widened once she noticed she'd been spotted.

"Sorry, we aren't interested!" Kagome yelled across the way, hoping the soliciter would just leave. They rarely made the long walk up the shrine steps. She was surprised this girl did, especially in those heels._ That has **got **to be a killer_. She inwardly cringed, and her feet started to ache just thinking about it.

The woman made her way over to the girls on the bench. Kagome sighed, "I said, we're not inter-"

The woman shook her head and held up a silencing, but still kind, hand. "No, don't worry. I'm not here to sell you anything. I'm here to tell you that you won the contest you entered in. I'm Kikyou, and once we notify your parents, you'll pack and we'll be on our way to the mountain estate."

Kagome stared at the woman, her jaw not knowing whether to drop or not. "Ex-excuse me? Mountain estate? I'm...terribly sorry. I think you have the wrong person. I didn't even enter a contest." The girl continued to stare at the woman in front of her.

Kikyou looked at the girl. Surely this was the girl. More than likely it was her friend that was registered to go with her beside her. She cast a quick glance at Sango, who looked just as confused as Kagome.

Kikyou looked at the sheet in her hand. "You...are Kagome Higurashi and Sango Hara, correct?" She looked back up at the girls, and judging by their expressions, they were surprised she knew their names. "You entered a contest a few weeks ago to spend 3 months with Inuyasha and the Tenou family. Your entrance letter is right here." She handed the young teens the paper and they both grabbed it.

Kagome's mother and the boys made their way up the last steps to the shrine. Noticing the girls and some strange woman, Kagome's mother made her way over to them. "Excuse me..."She said, wondering who would be at her shrine visiting her daughter dressed as this woman was.

Kikyou turned to the quiet woman and gave her a smile. "Hello, I'm assuming you're Ms. Higurashi?" The said woman nodded slowly. "Well, your daughter, Kagome, and her friend, Sango, have won the Inuyasha contest. With your permission, we'll be leaving as shortly as possible to leave for the Tenou mountain estate." Kikyou pulled out some papers and handed them to the confused woman. "These are just insurance papers, and letters of approval. I need you to sign those before Kagome leaves. Sango, I'm going to need a parent or guardian to sign papers for you as well." She said as she quickly looked over to the older girl, who just nodded absently.

"Souta..." Kagome said dangerously, her eyes still glued to the paper in her hand. "Come here please." She hissed.

He couldn't see his sister's expression because her dark bangs hung down to cover her eyes, but he could tell by the tone of her demand she wasn't pleased. "Y-y-yes?" The boy stuttered, looking at Kagome, ready to run for his life if he had to.

Kagome's body stiffened as she lifted her head to look at him. "Why, did you enter me in a contest that had **anything **to do with...Inuyasha." She said the name, and it left a bad taste in her mouth.

Souta smirked. He was ready to answer this one. He leaned in and whispered, "If you don't go, I'll let grandpa know how the storage house **really** caught on fire."

Kagome gasped. How did he know? _Okay, soit is my fault...I left the flashlight in the house, and noticed the matches by the candle. I only wanted to look at that mask. Even though grandpa warned me not too...How was I supposed to know that I didn't put the candle out all the way? Stupid brat! What, was he spying on me? Little creep!_

She glared at her brother. "You wouldn't." She warned venomously.

"I would." He dared back. His eyes flashed, and he knew he had defeated her.

Sango poked her head in the warm argument before it turned brutal. "Kagome, why don't we go, it'll be fun. Your mom doesn't seem to mind the idea." She motioned her head towards her mother, who was chatting away with Kikyou, and looking over the papers. Kikyou pulled out a pen, and Ms. Higurashi continued to talk happily as she signed the specific places on the documents.

Kagome's guts knotted. How could her mother, her own flesh and blood, willingly send her off to live three months with complete strangers. **Famous** strangers at that. Did she really want to submit her daughter to the tortures of fame? She saw what they were like on TV. Stuck up and rude. Fake and made-up. Loaded up on drugs and alcoholics. They got away with everything, and because society adores them, they get away with it! She saw how people followed them. Would it be like that all the time? Kagome sighed resignedly. _They don't get it. They just don't know how much I don't want to do this._ She looked at her friend, who only held hope in her eyes.

Sango knew how much Kagome hated celebrities. But surely they weren't all bad. _Maybe this will change her mind. Maybe...if only she'd agree. I at least want to see what a famous person's life is like. And those houses! Oh, Kami...I've seen them on TV...I wonder if they're that amazing up and close in real life?_ Her eyes glazed over in thought, and Kagome caved in.

"Okay. Let me go pack." She said, knowing she had been defeated by everyone here._ Ha...some love these people have for me._ She callously grinned inwardly as she stood up to go inside.

Sango jumped up and grabbed her friend in a bear hug. "Thank you so much Kagome! We'll have so much fun, you just wait and see!"

Kagome's mother smiled warmly at her daughter. "I know you'll enjoy yourselves. Go pack. Have fun, and be safe. I trust you, Kagome. Sango, take care of her." She clasped her hands together happily, and she turned to Kikyou to show her inside. Sango dragged her friend toward the house so she could pack, and then make their way to her house so she could do the same.

_This...is going to be a complete nightmare,_ Kagome thought, _just a disaster._

0o0o0o0

Inuyasha raised his amber eyes to meet his father's more golden ones. It took him a moment to register what his old man had just said. Finally, he gathered his thoughts. "So, you found a girl, huh?" His father nodded. "How old is she? Is she pretty? There's no way I'm dealing with some ugly high-school freshman." He snorted.

Inutaishou gave his son a warning glare. "She's 16. I'm told she's very attractive, and you will put up with her and her friend, regardless. If you don't, you'll have me to deal with. And I won't be too happy, do you understand?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, but he knew how his father could get, so he wouldn't push the matter yet. He'd just warn the wenches once they got there to stay out of his way. "Keh...yeah, I hear ya, loud and clear." He drawled. _Loud and clear...right. And I'm going to be sugar for this girl. Who knows, she may be hot._ His lips turned up in a perverse way. _Hehe...maybe her friend will be just as hot._ Yes, this was starting to look good now. He leaned back in his chair, thinking of all the possibilities.

"–Higurashi. Inuyasha? Did you hear me?" The hanyou jerked his attention to his father, who looked rather irritated at the moment.

"What?" Inuyasha snapped rudely, angry that his _thoughts _had been interrupted. His father narrowed his eyes, not liking his son's tone of voice.

"I **said** the girl's name is Kagome Higurashi. Her friend's name is Sango Hara. You will greet them once they arrive. Understood?" Inutaishou said, watching his son's face drop drastically, and he even thought it palled a slight degree, but he wasn't sure.

"Ka-Kagome...yeah...whatever...gotcha..." Inuyasha trailed off with an expression that was somewhere between confused, pained and angry. Inutaishou couldn't figure out which though.

"Something wrong? You sound as if you've just heard a dead person's name." The youkai chuckled at himself, never letting his watchful eyes leave his son, who still seemed to be in a daze.

"Dead person...heh...no, not exactly." Inuyasha shook his head violently. "The name...just sounded like...a model's name. I...knew her once. But you know how those things are." He said, almost meekly.

His father grinned mischievously. "Oh. I see. I understand completely." He laughed loudly, and the sound echoed in the room. "You're more like me than I thought, Inuyasha. Now, go get ready, our guests will be arriving shortly."

0o0o0o0

The winding rode up the mountain was filled with spectacular views. Green valleys and slopes along the mountains were like those on calendars. You know, the one's that make you say, "That's so pretty!" Summer flowers were scattered along the road and in various fields. Eventually, the trees grew less dense, and the road ceased as it neared a large, decorative iron gate. The car stopped, and Kikyou punched in some numbers and the gate opened automatically. Kagome and Sango stared in awe at the driveway. It was rather long, and in front of the house it circled around an attractive fountain. Then they noticed the house. No, it couldn't even be called a house or home. It was too huge and monstrous to be called such a small and petty name.

Their car stopped and both girls stepped out of the car, nearly breaking their necks looking at the humongous building before them. "Ahem," They both looked at Kikyou, who was smiling at them and motioning towards the door. "Do you ladies want to come inside?" She asked, trying to hold back a giggle after seeing their eyes grow brighter.

But before Kikyou made it to the door, it burst open, causing all three girls to jump due to the loud sound and sudden movement. Kagome shielded her eyes, since the sun was at the perfect angle to block her view of the person in the doorway.

"Ya gonna stand there all day, or are you coming inside? It's hot, and I'm not standing out here all day, got it bitch?" That all too familiar voice. The gruff voice that she hated. The voice belonged to a person, no, not even a person, a **monster**, that she despised. Her lips thinned as she bit her bottom lip.

"_I never, ever, **ever** want to see your face again!"_

"_Same here, bitch!"_

There it was. That face. The face she never wanted to see again. She could feel the glare in his eyes as hers went to meet his, a mutual emotion transpiring between them.

"You inadvertent, inelegant, lethargic jerk..." Kagome listed, slowly making her way up the large marble steps.

"What?" Inuyasha asked, not making sense of any of the qualities she just rambled off. _I may not know what she's saying, but I know I won't like it!_

"You're such an imbecile!" Kagome threw her hands up in frustration.

"Hey, don't go calling me names!" The angered hanyou retorted, finally getting more than two words in.

"Then don't **start** with me, jerk!" Kagome yelled back, equally flamed.

"Why the hell did you enter that contest? If you knew-"

Kagome interrupted, "Knew I'd see you?" They looked at each other for a moment, letting everything catch up and come back. "I had nothing to do with it, I was...forced. Otherwise, I'd have **nothing** to do with it, and**nothing** to do with you!"

The words cut Inuyasha like a blade. Sharp and deep, he didn't know how to react. He turned on his heals abruptly, and stalked off inside.

Kagome watched his shadow fade before turning to her friend. "Let's go in. I want to get unpacked." No emotions could be read in her flatwords. Sango's heart dropped, and shefelt that maybethis wasn't such a good idea after all.

"Kagome, you're acting like...well...do you know-" But Sango's question was clipped short by Kagome's dagger words. "**Don't**...ask any questions right now. Let's just...go inside." The younger girl lowered her head as she entered the mansion, Sango right behind her.

"Why, hello lovely ladies, pleasant to meet you! My name is Miroku." A cheery voice caught both girls by surprise. They looked to their left to see a handsome young man, he must've only been in his late teens. His violet eyes met theirs, and widened in surprise rather suddenly when doing so. "Oh, my!" He yelled, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth. "It's you!"

0o0o0o0

(Yawn) Oh, look at the time. (Dodges assorted items being thrown at her) Sorry about the cliffie! But I'm tired, and I spent quite a while on this. Hope you enjoyed. Review please, and I'll love you forever.

Much thanks to my buddy **DramaQueenABZ**!


	3. Entrance Enrages

Disclaimer: No, don't own it...

Wow...so many reviews. That's the most I've ever received for one chapter. I'd be happy if that happened again! Lol. Nothing else to say, responses to reviews in the bottom A/N, so check that out guys. Thanks!

Chapter 3: Entrance Enrages

"Why, hello lovely ladies, pleasant to meet you! My name is Miroku." A cheery voice caught both girls by surprise. They looked to their left to see a handsome young man, he must've only been in his late teens. His violet eyes met theirs, and widened in surprise rather suddenly when doing so. "Oh, my!" He yelled, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth. "It's you!"

Both girls jumped at his bewildered tone. Kagome narrowed her eyes, which sent shivers up the teenage boy's body. "Do I _know _you?" She asked coldly. So cold, even Sango was forced to flicker her eyes at her friend next to her. She certainly didn't need to take her anger out on this poor guy. _He hasn't even done anything._ Sango sighed at her thought and rubbed her temples.

Miroku withdrew a bit and looked at the girl, nearly afraid to answer with that glare she was directing at him. "No...I don't believe I've ever met you." He answered carefully before sliding over next to Sango. "But you," his hand grabbed the older girl's, causing her to jerk her head up to meet his warm gaze, "I know I've met you before." He purred. His deep eyes shined with a radiance that was new to Sango. No one had ever looked at her with eyes like that.

The girl was quite flustered, and didn't know what to say. "Actually, I don't think we've ever met." She said, almost saddened by hearing the truth._Why did I say that? He's so hot! Now I probably just screwed that chance up. He'll be all, "Oh, yeah, come to think of it, you're not her. You're **much **uglier."_ _I should have just said, "Oh really? Where?" Wait...I can still save this!_ Sango cleared her throat and straightened her head. "But if you think we have, maybe you do know me from somewhere." Her blush deepened and she averted her eyes from his, "By the way, where do you remember me from?" _Just play it off from here. Who knows, you may win yourself a date with him!_ Butterflies danced around her stomach in a girlish manner.

Miroku chuckled a bit. "Oh, I'm certain we've met. Where you ask? Well..." He leaned down close to her ear, and whispered something so only she could hear. A perverse grin played at his lips as he spoke. Sango's eyes widened in shock. After registering what he was saying, her brows furrowed and her fist clenched.

Kagome and Kikyou stood side by side, watching the whole event unfold in the entrance hall, the door still wide open the way they had left it upon entering. No one had bothered to shut it, and nobody noticed the newest audience member occupying the large doorway.

He had an athletic build, and the ladies always loved his rippling muscles, especially in his latest movie in which he had to jump in a river to save some girl. None of the females watching knew what was going on. They could care less, as long as they saw him stripped down to just shorts and in the water playing hero.

His dark hair was always pulled up in a high ponytail. His perfect strands shined in the evening sun, and anyone would be envious of them and the fact that he hardly had any split ends. His bright cerulean eyes wandered over the girl next to Kikyou. _She's beautiful. Must be the one who won that contest. What a shame. Hate to steal a beauty such as herself from mut-face. Heh. Too bad for him I guess._

Kagome felt someone's gaze lingering on her but she didn't see anyone in her peripheral range. She glanced around her and finally caught sight of someone standing in the doorway. She had seen his face before, but couldn't quite put a name to him. He shifted from the door frame and made his way over to her. _Oh! I shouldn't have been staring at him that long! He'll think something's wrong with me._ Even still, she continued to look at him, mesmerized by his gorgeous eyes.

"Hi, I'm Kouga. You must be the winner, huh?" The guy said, looking Kagome over at his newest angle.

Kagome reddened under his gaze. "Um, yeah. My name's Kagome. Kagome Higurashi. It's nice to meet you." She offered him her hand and her brightest smile she could offer.

_She has a wonderful smile. It's so warming._ Kouga extended his hand to grasp hers in a shake. "Nice to meet you, too." He grinned at the girl before him, letting her sweet aroma shower over him. _Yeah, I could get used to this._

"You sick **jerk!**" A slap resonated throughout the entrance and the nearby halls. Making a few of the maids look at each other and question, _what was that?_

Kagome's gaze was ripped from Kouga and attached to Sango, who was beet red and had both of her hands fisted. She followed her elder friend's piercing stare to Miroku. Or rather, the pink mark on his right cheek, that's shape looked dangerously similar to Sango's hand.

But her eyes didn't stay fixated on them for long, because not even a full second had passed when a familiar voice returned to add to the commotion.

"Kouga, what the hell are you doing here?" The said youkai and the girl in front of him looked to the top of the stairway to see one fiery hanyou. A throaty growl could be heard coming from both males' throats. Kagome wasn't sure what to do. Kouga still had her hand in his, and she was beginning to wonder why he hadn't let go. _Who cares about that, they don't seem to like each other very much. Well, I don't know **who** could like Inuyasha but..._she shook her head mentally, _no...that's not the point. The point is I need to get out of the battle zone. Now!_

But before Kagome could make a move, another voice entered the already thick atmosphere.

"Get your hands **off **of my boyfriend!" Kagome and Kouga turned to see an angry red haired girl storming through the doorway.

Inuyasha crouched on the stair rail and pounced off down to the first floor, landing swiftly with a slight thud. Kagome shrieked and jumped as a red blur dropped to her side. "I was talking to you!" The blur yelled. A quick fist flew by her head and landed Kouga straight in the jaw. She let go of his hand rather quickly, and was about to blast Inuyasha with a 'What do you think you're doing?' But didn't have time because Sango had run over to her and grabbed her hand. "Come on, we're getting away from this creep!" Looking over to the injured boy holding his battered head with a satisfied smile on his face.

"No, I want to know what you were doing with my boyfriend before you prance off!" The red-head grabbed Kagome's shoulder to stop her.

Kagome turned to look at the girl, and noticed she had tears welling up in her jade green eyes. "Oh, please don't cry! We were just introducing ourselves! I promise! I'm Kagome Higurashi, the one who won that Inuyasha contest." She said, trying hard to suppress her distaste when she said _his_ name.

The girl looked at her, and Kagome watched as her tears left and her eyes brightened quickly. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I should have known. I'm Ayame by the way. I see you've already met Kouga." Ayame smiled sweetly. "He's the love of my life! We're going to get married someday!" A slight blush spread across her face as she mentioned marriage.

Kagome and Sango both "awwed" and then squealed when Inuyasha went flying past their heads and crashed into the opposite wall. He wasn't down for long though, as he quickly got to his feet to put an elbow quite forcefully into Kouga's stomach. The 3 females winced at the fight unfolding in front of them.

Suddenly, Sango felt something on her rear, and had a good idea as to what it was. She turned quickly, grasped her assailant's wrist, and flung him as hard as she could. Miroku hurdled through the air, and crashed on a unaware Kouga, who was about to deliver a painful kick to Inuyasha's face. But when both Miroku and Kouga fell to the ground with a hard thud, Inuyasha glared at the person who had interrupted his fight with Kouga.

Inuyasha stomped over to Sango. "What do you think you're doing? I was just about to beat his ass when you threw Miroku on top of Kouga! How the hell did you do that anyway?" He asked, almost afraid to get a response.

"My father runs a dojo, and I help." Sango answered, brushing off his attitude.

Unfortunately, Kagome wasn't going to let him get away with that kind of talk to her friend. "Don't go yelling at Sango just because you can't control your anger! Really, you didn't have to attack him! He didn't do anything!" She yelled angrily.

The hanyou growled loudly. "He did too do something! He always pisses me off! And I can't believe you just stood there, he was totally hitting on you!"

Kagome shifted her foot and placed a hand on her hip. "And when did you start to ca-" She began before she was cut off rather rudely.

"Don't even say it." Inuyasha warned. "Just wondering if you were that much of a slut to go and steal someone else's boyfriend." A satisfied grin smeared his face when he saw her expression.

Her jaw dropped. _Did he just call me a slut?_ "I would never...**ever**...steal someone's boyfriend. And I am **not **a slut, so don't ever call me that again!" Kagome said, her anger rising with every word, so that by the end of her short speech, everyone had stopped what they were doing to look at the two in the center of them all.

"Oh, you're not a slut eh? Well, by the way you were smiling and giggling, you sure made yourself look easy." Inuyasha smiled, and started again before she could say anything, "Makes me glad you're room is next to mine. We could have quite a time you know." He said with a dirty grin.

Kagome shook her head in a sickened manner. "I would never do **anything **with you." She said bitterly.

Inuyasha tilted his head, and looked rather bemused. "Most girls would **die **to be in your position you know. And I think you're looking at it the wrong way. You should think more like everyone else in this business. It doesn't matter who you're doing, as long as you're getting some and you're satisfied." He looked up at the high ceiling and the brilliant chandelier that hung overhead them. "Like all of these models. I don't care who they are and they don't care who I am. We have our fun and then go our separate ways. In the end, it's just another pretty face and a new high score." He looked back at the girl in front of him, that perverse smirk still plastered on his flawless face.

Kagome lowered her head and her raven bangs covered her eyes. She took a step back and the sound of her shoe on the marble floor was the only sound anyone heard. "So it doesn't matter does it? As long as you get what you want from some...hot model, right? No emotions tied to it, huh? Is that what you tell yourself? What happens when one of you actually cares? What then?" Kagome's face lifted and her eyes locked with his.

Inuyasha took in a sharp breath when he saw her eyes. _They look so hollow...almost...haunting._ He had seen eyes like that before, and the memory made his organs shudder inside him. He didn't let that show though, he held his posture and didn't let his cocky demeanor falter. "Well, usually emotions don't get involved, but if they do, oh well. I guess someone gets hurt. Big deal. It's part of life, right?"

"_Sorry babe. Heartache's just a part of life, ya know?"_

A twisted grin played at Kagome's lips and her head shock absently as she stared at the swirls in the marble beneath her small feet. "Just a part of life..." She mused. Her chocolate orbs lifted slowly to meet his amber pools. "Is that your personal quote or something?" She choked out. "Is that what was going through your head as you...you..." She couldn't get the words out and they dangled on her tongue.

The air was heavy around them as the boy in front of her stared at her struggle for words. "Heh. No, not exactly." The girl cocked her head at his sudden response. "It was more like, 'damn, she's hot...Wonder what her name is again?' Something along that line." That cocky grin was becoming a regular on his face. Kagome hated to see it.

Her feet moved in slow steps, nearing her to him. Her hollow eyes didn't leave his for a second, and once she was close enough, her words came out smoothly and quietly. "You make me sick..." Her hand made a quick motion across his face, nearly causing him to lose his balance out of sheer shock. He looked at her small body and didn't know quite what to think._ Damn, that actually hurt! Stupid **bitch**!_ _When could someone so small hit so hard? _She didn't give him time to speak though, once his eyes met up with hers again, she started talking. "You're such a bastard. You don't care about anyone's feelings, and would do anything to get what you want. And it doesn't matter whose heart you step on in the process. What will you do when you love someone? Continue your little games? What happens when someone loves you? Will you even care? Will you care at all? How will you feel when you know you ripped some girl's heart out and smash it in the ground and stomp all over it! What will you do when you find out she actually loved you, and she thought you loved her back! But then you go and mess around with one of your...girl toys, and she finds out."

A silence fell over everyone as those last few words came out. "She finds out you cheated on her because, you know how in **your **world, things spread like an epidemic. And she actually thought you cared...she thought you loved her! Guess not though. Because if you did, you wouldn't have screwed around with that model, right? But does it even bother you to know that you crushed her fragile heart?" Kagome let the words sink in for a moment before finishing her speech. "No. You don't care, and it doesn't bother you. Because what do you do? You just walk away, leaving her hurt and broken. You just leave her. You don't even apologize, do you? Of course not, because that's just the kind of jerk you are, isn't it?" Her eyes were glazing over, and for a moment, Inuyasha actually felt guilty.

He made a motion towards her, but she backed away quickly, avoiding his gesture. He tried to come up with something to say, but, "Kagome...no, I'm..." was all that came out.

She laughed a sick, almost sarcastic laugh, one rarely heard from her. "Don't worry, it was a rhetorical question. It doesn't need an answer." She turned he back to him, avoiding his eyes.

This only made him mad though. He wasn't done with this conversation, not yet at least. "Listen here, bitch! This is **not** over, so don't turn your back on me!" He barked.

"Inuyasha, just stop it!" To everyone's surprise, it was Ayame who had halted him. She looked at him, her eyes pleading with him to leave her alone. "She's had a rough day. Just back off, okay?" She asked quietly.

Kikyou finally made some movement and walked over to Kagome and Sango. She looked at them both and offered them her kindest smile. "Let's get you girls to your rooms, shall we?" Turning to Miroku, who was quite comfortable on the floor, she said, "Miroku, be a dear and grab their bags. You're here, you might as well help." He had moved from his landing position, and made his way over to lean on a wall, all the time, looking over his newly developed bruises that covered him. He looked up at Kikyou and pouted. "But I'm a guest as well, why do I have...to..." He trailed off, seeing as she was set with the idea of him getting their bags. He sighed heavily and lifted himself up, using the wall as support. "Fine..." The teenage boy grumbled. Adding a few more words under his breath.

The young star of the house was not too happy with everyone ignoring him when he wanted to be ripping each and every one of their heads off. He turned sharply on his heals and stalked off down a hall that led to the garage. Grabbing the first key he could, he walked up to its partner car and hopped in, slamming the car door afterwards. Everyone heard the engine as he sped down the drive way to who-knows-where. As long as he was gone, a new peace settled on the house.

The silence was cherished, as everyone standing there took in cleaner oxygen and exhaled dramatically. For the first time that day, the only thing they heard was the slight wind blowing through the door way and fluttering the curtains on the bay window between the entrance to the sitting room nearby.

"Let's go." Kikyou said quietly to the winner, her friend, and the young man near them. She gave a pleasant, but exhausted smile to the two wolf youkai. "Thank you for dropping by. We never got to discuss the plans for the party. We'll do that soon though. But I think it's better if you leave now. We have a lot to show our guests." Kouga and Ayame nodded. They bid their farewells, and left shortly after, finally closing the door behind them.

The four left in the entrance stared at the door for a moment, before Miroku perked up. "You know, the elevator would be much simpler than the stairs." He offered.

"True..." Kikyou replied before adding, "I just love the stairs. They always remind me of those kind from fairytales. Where the princess is walking down the large, double, winding velvet steps." Her eyes seemed to have an extra shine to them as she spoke. And Kagome noticed that maybe there was more to Kikyou than just business. She was a girl too, and she had the same happily ever after ending dream that every girl had. For the first time that day, Kagome finally felt like she connected with someone in that house aside from Sango, and it put a genuine smile on her previously saddened face.

The girls made their way over to the elevator, talking happily about their favorite fairytale on the way. Miroku dragged behind them, tugging the bags along with an exasperated expression.

0o0o0o0

The wind rippled through Inuyasha silver tresses as his small black convertible flew down the empty road. Dried up leaves along the side whipped up as he went past at a neck breaking speed. Luckily there were no cops around. Not that it would matter. An autograph aught to keep him out of trouble and avoid any ticketing.

The road was constantly winding, and the sun dipped between the mountains as it was falling into the horizon. "Damn it!" He cursed as he came around a turn and the sun's light stared him right in the face. _Stupid sun, being so damn bright!_ He came up to a place where you could pull off the road and get a good view of the mountains, maybe a snap shot or two that you could show off to friends and family when you got home from vacation.

He pulled over and parked the car. After grabbing a cigarette and lighter, he stepped out of the slim car. He walked over to the railing and leaned against it, lighting up his cigarette as he did so. Shoving the lighter back in his pocket, he looked down to the gapes between two mountains. There was a smooth running river, and the reflection on the water caught his eye. With the dying light of the sun, the bright glaze was a stark contrast to the dark waters.

For a moment, the dark rippling water reminded him of sweet smelling dark hair, and the sun's reflection reminded him of a warm smile. The girl was looking at him and the love glowed in her eyes. She was smiling at him, and the wind blew her hair just right. She was gorgeous, and more than that, she had been his.

He exhaled and the smoke billowed in the ever cooling air around him. _Why does she plague my mind like that? I hate her! I despise that stupid bitch!_ He bared his teeth at the memory and a growl crawled up his throat. For a quick moment, his eyes flashed red, and his blood went cold. His head started throbbing, and the cigarette butt slipped from his fingers as his hands quickly gestured to grasp his head. He slipped from his leaning position and knelt on the gravel beneath him, trying to gain control over his emotions and his reactions.

A few moments past, and he finally caught his breath again. His hands dropped from his head, and he suddenly slammed his fist in the ground, leaving a knuckle sized hole in the ground. It was dark now, and the moon's light looked down upon him, pitying him in this state.

Inuyasha glared at the moon and her pure light. He heaved a heavy sigh and gathered himself together. Opening the car door, he slipped in and pulled out of the drive up area. He sat there in the road for a moment, then hesitantly pulled out his cell phone. Flipping it open, he picked the first number he saw in the phonebook and waited for an answer. He shifted the car into drive and began down the road once more.

"Hello?" A female voice answered, with the slight hint of a French accent.

The hanyou smiled. "Hey babe...it's me. Want some company tonight?"

0o0o0o0

Wow...I didn't know I could be so inhales and searches for word dramatic. And of course, please review. They make me happy and let me know someone's actually reading it.

And even though I make reference, this fic will **not **contain sexual scenes. I will make indications to certain events, but I'm not going to go into detail...I have a rating I'd like stay within, and then there's the fact that I'm only 16. So no one needs to worry. And yes, things are going to be a bit rough for a bit and a little angsty, but give it time. Things will clear up. And I had planned on this being a bit heavier than my last fic.

Okay, now the thank you list and responses!

**This...Is...Me...:** I'm glad you got into it! That means I'm doing a good job, right?

**Zoderella: **lol. Glad you love it! And yeah, I hate to read cliffy's myself, but love to write them. I'm so evil.

**I DON'T HAVE A...NAME: **sorry you don't have a name...other than that, thank you for the review and compliment. Just letting me know it's going well keeps me happy )

**J-Ray:** Thank you!

**Ouka-Chan77: **Thank you so much. Sometimes I wonder if I'm detailed enough, but I'm glad you think I am.

**DramaQueenABZ: **As always, thank you so much for the review ) and I can answer some of your questions. What's the deal with Inu boy and Kagome? Mm...something. Have they met? Juuust maybe. What's going on? Hehe...I don't want to spoil it. Is there something I'm not telling you? Most definitely. What is up with Miroku? Not much, he's just hitting on Sango. Lol.

**Crystal: **lol. I'm glad you like it! It means a lot to me. Lol. I would hope you liked my last one, but I personally think this one will turn out better. And thank you for the advice. You're like, all knowing or something. But, we've discussed that before, haven't we? Love ya buddy!

Mk, that's it for now. I'll update again when I get back from my grandma's, which is the only reason I'm updating now.


	4. What You Can't Have Back

Disclaimer: No..don't own any of the characters..just the plot.

(Yawn) Wow, it's late. But I don't have anything else to do. I've been very busy with my life and all of it's components, so sorry for the lack of updates. Oh, and HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY! I know that's a bit early, but I wanted to get this posted before then, because I'm going out of town (again). Yeah, sorry, but I do that a lot.

Chapter 4: What You Can't Have Back

0o0o0o0

Kagome half-heartedly opened her eyes due to the annoying buzzer going off beside her head. She knocked her portable alarm clock off of the bedside table and grumbled a few incoherent words as she grabbed the covers and turned over, only to have the morning sun shining brightly through her window, and straight into her eyes.

"Yeow!" She hissed, bringing the covers she was clutching over her head to create a shield from the burning light. Mumbling into her pillow, she decided she should crawl out of bed, fully against her desires, and actually be social today. She hadn't even met anyone else in the household aside from who she had met the day before. _Man, yesterday was complete hell. Really though, who couldn't see that one coming._ She heaved a heavy sigh and slid her legs out from under her safe and comfortable haven to let her feet test the carpeted floor for her pink bunny slippers. _Found them!_ She smiled and slid her feet in. Somehow, the action made her feel more awake and lively. Something about cute slippers will do that to you.

The girl stretched her arms above her head and slowly wandered into the large bathroom. She turned the faucet on and splashed some cold water on her face. _Well, if I wasn't awake before, I sure am now._ Grabbing a blue towel, she dabbed her face and then studied her reflection. Turning her face from side to side, she questioned her appearance like any other teenager. _Everyone here is so beautiful. Hmph. Celebrities sure know how to make everyone else feel ugly. _She ran her fingers through her dark raven hair and pulled it all together in to a high ponytail. Holding her tresses with one hand, she searched the counter top for a hair band.

Last night she had unpacked everything and made herself quite at home. So at home in fact, that her bathroom was already in the 'a girl definitely uses this bathroom' state. Finally she found what she was looking for and tied her hair up loosely, so as not to give herself a headache.

_Clothes..._She slowly mused. _What am I going to wear today? _She looked down at her current apparel and snorted. _Definitely can't wander around in this all day._ She hopped out of the bathroom to study her whole reflection in the full length mirror on the closet door. Herpolka dotboxer shorts and white t-shirt along with the bunny slippers would probably earn a few crass remarks. _Too bad I can't live by comfort. If I did though, they'd have something to laugh about, and I don't want to be the center of their ridicule._

Opening the closet with a sigh, she flipped through the shirts until she found a pink tank she usually favored during the summer. With a smile, she tossed the shirt on to the bed and then made her way over to the rather decent sized dresser. Pulling open one of the drawers, she rummaged through assorted capris, shorts, and skirts. She finally settled on a light denim skirt that sort of gave off that 'I've been worn a hundred times' feel. She changed quickly, leaving her sleeping clothes on the floor to pick up later. She tottered to the door, switching out the bunnies on her feet for a pair of pink flip-flops.

Kagome glanced back to her bed, contemplating whether or not to make her bed. "Nah." She said, walking out the door, and leaving the bed and its covers in an unkept mess.

0o0o0o0

She hadn't noticed how long the hallway was yesterday, but now that she was going down it alone, it was as if it never ended. Passing each door, she made note to remember which was whose. Mr. and Mrs. Tenou both resided in the west wing of the third floor, along with Kagura and Kikyou. Everyone who worked there also received the privilege of living in the large estates, occupying the first floor of the building. The second floor was reserved for dinners and parties. During the summer, these events would also take place out on the spacious back patio, around the pool and hot-tub area, and also on the roof (which was always well kept for such events, and always served as a 'get away' type of place). This left Kagome and the others. They all stayed in the east wing of the third floor. But even with Sango, Miroku and Inuyasha so close by, she hadn't run into any of them this lovely morning.

Actually, she hadn't seen Inuyasha since yesterday evening after he walked out. Not that she really minded. He was a jerk after all, and completely proved her right on her "Celebrities are jerks and idiots" theory.

"Kagome!" A sweet voice broke her concentration as she pressed the down button on the elevator. She blinked in surprise as Izayoi gracefully walked towards her with a warm smile. "On your way to breakfast?" The woman asked her.

Kagome nodded her head silently. Izayoi tilted her head. "Mind if I join you then? My _dear_ husband claims he has other things to do, and I would love to get to know you a bit." She looked at the girl who gaped for a moment before replying, "Oh, of course! I'd love to!"

_She isabsolutely gorgeous! And she's so nice. Really, how is this woman related to Inuyasha? He's such a jerk. She deals with a lot. I admire her._ Kagome stood beside her on the elevator, and almost felt bad for hating celebrities. _Okay, so she's the only exception. All the others are the same...right?_

The elevator came to a stop and they both stepped out and headed towards the breakfast room. As they walked down yet another long hallway, Izayoi talked about "the family" and pointed out various portraits as they passed them. When Inuyasha's came up, Kagome gasped at how...well...he wasn't scowling, and it was the first time she had seen him so...smiley. The woman next to her noticed her reaction.

Izayoi chuckled lightly, causing Kagome to blush from embarrassment. "No, it's alright." She reassured the girl. "It's odd, isn't it? Seeing him smile, that is." Her smile dropped for a moment before resurfacing to look at the still surprised girl by her side.

Kagome searched for words while continuing to stare at the picture in a mixture of sheer disbelief and fascination. "It is strange to say the least. Why...why is he always so angry?" She dared ask the question she knew the answer to. She glanced at Izayoi, whose brows were burrowed and she seemed to be in deep thought.

"I'm not sure really. When he was young he was picked on a bit. But he had so many friends, it didn't seem to bother him much. And, as he got older, you can imagine he took on the image of his father plus the ears...he was definitely happy with the attention he received from the females. Then one day, he stopped caring about the girls. But he was so happy. I don't know, maybe he had a girlfriend he just didn't tell us about." She gave a slight laugh, causing Kagome to jump. "Either that or he finally realized that Miroku wasn't a good role model." Then her expression fell slightly. "But...it was weird. One day he went from being extremely happy to being angry about everything. It was like, nothing was right for him, and everything was imperfect. Ever since then, he goes on his little tirades and disappears often. There are always tabloids about him and some model involving a sex scandal of some sort."

Kagome genuinely felt bad for the woman. How could he put his own mother through so much pain. She worried about him while he ran around with some stick in stilettos. "I can only hope that it's not true. But...I wonder myself...what made him this way?"

They were both quiet for a moment, as the mother stared at her son's picture with nothing but undying love. "Maybe something happened to him and he feels bad or guilty." _Which hemost definitly should... _"Maybe, he just doesn't know how to react." Kagome mused, inwardly surprised she had let her thoughts escape her.

Izayoi looked at her thoughtfully and then smiled. "Maybe you're right, Kagome." The said girl turned to face the woman and offered her the warmest smile she could muster.

"Things will work out. He's just growing up, that's all." Kagome reassured the worried mother with a gentle laugh.

Izayoi smiled at the kind girl, feeling a lot better after Kagome's reassurance. "Yes, indeed he is growing up. Maybe...whatever is making him feel this way, making him feel so bad and confused...whether it be a friend or a girl...maybe they can forgive him. I just wish someone could make him happy again." She looked at the girl, waiting for some sort of reaction.

Kagome could feel the pleading in the woman's voice, and almost felt as if it was directed at her. _Kagome, you're an idiot...a complete idiot. _She thought to herself. Biting her lip nervously, she glanced back at Izayoi and decided to change the subject. "Um...breakfast?"

Izayoi shook her head quickly. "Oh, right. I'm so sorry." She looked at Kagome warily and offered her a gentle smile, which was obviously forced. Kagome could see the sadness still hidden under it, and winced internally.

As they sat down at the large table, Kagome flipped through the menu sitting in front of her. _Waffles sound really good right now...or maybe an omelet..._

"Thank you." The young girl looked up, not knowing why Izayoi had said it, which made her question if she was just hearing things.

"I'm sorry?" She asked inquisitively.

Izayoi glanced up from her menu. "In the hallway. What you said. It was really kind of you to talk to me like that. It's not often I have anyone to speak to about such things. So, I thank you very much. You're a good person Kagome. Don't ever let anyone hurt you by telling you otherwise, and never change."

"_But you said you loved me!" She cried out, wanting to run up to the boy and hold him and never let him leave her._

"_Well, I guess I lied. You weren't worth my time anyway. Get over it." He said harshly._

"_So all of it was a lie. Everything you said, every feeling you made me feel, it was all a lie? How could you?" She screamed, trying to force back the salty tears that were attempting to escape their depths._

_The boy turned away from her and looked at the ground near his feet. "Sorry babe. Heartache's just a part of life, ya know?"_

"_Why? Why would you..." She couldn't come up with anything else. The question was doing laps in her head._

_He took in a deep breath before answering her. "Because people change. If I continued leading you on, you'd only get hurt more." He faced her, his deep eyes full of some unread emotion._

"_I don't think you could hurt me anymore than you have now. Love, I believe I despise you." She said evenly, making the impact hit him harder._

"_Look, I can't-" He stepped forward._

"_No, don't." She held herself andtook a clumsy step back,while glaring at him with the most torn expression he had ever seen her hold. "I never, ever, **ever **want to see your face again!"_

_His anger rose at the tone in her voice. "Same here, bitch!"_

_That was the end of it. With that said, he stalked off. Once he was out of sight, the girl fell to the ground in a miserable heap, holding her face in her hands and finally letting the brokenhearted sobs fall freely from her chocolate eyes. Never again, would she let him in. Never. And never again would she let his **kind** in. They were all the same, and in the end, they would all hurt you._

Kagome spaced out for a minute, letting painful memories overflow her completely. She looked emptily at Izayoi and finally snapped back to reality. "Oh, don't worry, I won't." She said, trying to hide the bitterness in her tone. _I never will._

0o0o0o0

"_This girl...she's affecting you, is she not?" A cold voice asked a handsome boy, presumably in his middle teens._

"_Yeah, what of it?" He jeered back at the taunting man. What was it any of his business anyway?_

_The man smirked, pissing the teenager off. "Do you think it's wise? With your condition and all, what if you hurt her? Could you bear the thought of ripping her to shreds?"_

_The boy breathed in quickly, so quickly that his lungs burned for a moment. "I...I would never..." He said, not able to keep out the uncertainty._

"_How do you know? It's true that you've been better about it lately, but what if all off that just built up, what if it explodes one day? She'll be with you. She'll be right by your side trying to help, and you will kill her. Do you want to take that chance?" The man sneered, trying not to cackle at his sheer genius. The control he had over this boy was amazing, even to him. Soon enough he would be the puppeteer over him. He almost pitied the poor thing. Almost._

_The boy looked at the ground, contemplating what to do. "But, I love her." He said, the pain seeping through, and his golden eyes suddenly became much deeper._

"_If you love her, you would only want her safety. And if you want her safety, you will leave her. After all, you'll only hurt her." The man said, his fake concern was very convincing._

_The teenager was quite for a moment as various thoughts rippled through his young mind. "What do I tell her?" He finally said quietly._

_The man turned away to hide his twisted smile. "Tell her people change. She should be able to understand that. Don't even try to explain, she'll just try to get closer and help, and that would make things worse, you know."_

_The torn teenager gather his composure and stood up stiffly. "Alright." He said flatly. "But...this is only because I care about her."_

"_Of course." The man said to no one, seeing as the boy had already walked out the door with a slam echoing. "Haha. You pathetic fool. That girl is your savior. Pity. Without her the demon in you will come out a lot more. And if I pull the right strings, you and your family will be under my control. Wouldn't want this getting out to the public now, would we?"_

Inuyasha snapped up from his nightmare. Why on earth was he having that dream again. His insides shivered. That creep was out of his life. That girl would stay out of his heart, and he would make sure of it. He growled at the thought and fell out of the bed. Picking himself up off the floor, he glanced back to the bed. Hotel beds always stunk anyway. Hotel. Oh, right, he had some fun with that...what's-her-face model. He licked his lips with a perverted grin. Yeah, she's pretty fun to party with. He frowned a bit, knowing that there would be some tabloid with a picture talking about the mad sex they have. He sighed, _oh well, those paparazzi freaks have to make money somehow._

A lot of people thought a lot of things about Inuyasha. Surprisingly, a lot of the things they think, aren't entirely true. Example? Let's view Inuyasha's current thoughts again, shall we?

_No matter how many girls I kiss, no matter how many I make out with, the minute I have the chance to make them mine, that stupid girl pops into my head. I wish I was as lucky as the media made me out to be._

Like that. He's viewed as the biggest playboy in everyone's eyes. He's very flirtatious, and can get any girl he wants, yet the one girl that is always on his mind, the one he really wants, is the only one that he can't have. Even if he could, she wouldn't want him. Knowing this, pisses him off even more.

With that anger built up inside of him, he stormed out of the hotel room and stalked off towards the receptionist desk to check out, and then straight to his car. Starting the engine, he jerked out of the parkinglot and headed home.

_Damn girl. Why are you everywhere I don't want you to be?_

0o0o0o0

(falls over because she's so tired) Man, that took a while. Hope you enjoy. There are a lot of flashback/memory moments in here. I like to make it confusing. Keeps you guessing. On that note, does anyone know what's going on? I'm starting to hint at it **big **time.Hehe.

So, you know the drill. There's a little purple button down at the bottom. It says something along the lines of **submit review**. You aught to try it. It's killer fun and just makes my day so much better. I want some reviews people. You guys remind me why I'm writing, so keep that in mind. And constructive criticism is always welcome. Don't be afraid to point out any mistakes I make, because that is what helps me improve. And if you don't want to do that, at least tell me that enjoy my story. It really does make me feel sooooooo much better. Promise.

Now the thank you list!

**DramaQueenABZ: **I always love your reviews. I wish everyone asked as many questions as you. Lol. Really, they give me something to work towards and keep the whole point of the story in mind. And (whispers) you know the answers...so...shh...they're secret (ends whispering). So for everyone else's viewing pleasure, to answer **all** of your questions. Maayyybbe...

**InukagXOXO:** Thank you :) you're so flattering! Lol. Here's your update!

**Karen:** I'm glad you enjoy it so much. I know there's a lot of suspense, but please don't die because of it :)


	5. She Just Wanted Danger

Disclaimer: I swear, I get tired of this thing after chapter one.

Wow..thanks to all of the reviews is at the bottom. Much thanks!

Chapter 5: She Just Wanted Danger

Inuyasha slowly pulled the car into the garage and made his way to the door. He stood beside it, listening closely to ensure that no one was on the other side. He really didn't want to have any encounters at the moment. He opened the door and shut is quietly behind him, giving one more quick glance down the hall before proceeding.

As he walked into the entrance hall, he could help but wonder where everyone was. He looked at his watch. _11:12 AM. Yeah, parentals will definitely still be asleep._ Taking one last glance around, he crept up to his room and noticed that Miroku was still in his room. That Sango girl's door was shut tight with a "do not disturb" sign hanging from the doorknob. He went to open his door, and noticed that he couldn't smell Kagome. _Hm...she must've gone down to eat already._

Stepping inside his room, the first thing he did was change, not even bothering to take a shower. As he buckled his belt, he sauntered over to the balcony window, pulled the door open and walked out. The stone was cold beneath his feet. Not that it really bothered him, it was just something that he made note of as he leaned on the rail and looked around.

He kind of liked the mountains. It was a great escape from the busy city of Tokyo. Something about the mountains' majestic magic was soothing, almost drug-like. Hazy clouds lingered on the peaks, covering them like a soft blanket. Long, snaking rivers lay smoothly in the deep, green valleys that sat nestled between the mountains.

Checking out his surrounding, he relaxed a bit, and somehow, the slight headache that was resting on his neck slowly dissipated. Inuyasha looked over the property and his eyes spotted two people sitting out on the breakfast pavilion. _Is that...Mother...and...I can't make out the second person. Wait a minute, that's Kagome with her. What are those two doing together?_ He rolled his eyes at the stupidity of his own question. _Duh, eating breakfast. That's just...strange._ He continued to watch the two females with unexplained curiosity.

0o0o0o0

The shaded pavilion was the perfect place to eat a fresh breakfast. The scenery was amazing. Looking out over the perfectly landscaped yard, past that, having an absolutely gorgeous view of the mountains. It was almost like a dream. The morning wasn't too hot since the sun hadn't yet reached through the peaks to touch the rocky slabs that created the pavilion.

Izayoi laughed as Kagome talked about her younger brother, school, and of course her best friend, Sango. Remembering what it was like to be a young and vibrant teenager made her feel so much happier. And just seeing the girl across from her smile was enough to make the day brighter.

"And there was this one time in like, seventh grade, Sango and I were outside and running to get to the door because we were late. Well, she was complaining about her hair, and didn't have a mirror. So she ran up to this window, thinking no one was in there because she didn't see anyone, and then started fixing her hair. Then she looked harder, and it turns out the window was just tinted! Oh Kami! She started blushing so much! We ran up the steps and through the door as fast as we could. It was so funny!" Kagome laughed at the memory, and even Izayoi let out a small chuckle.

The talked a while longer, and then Izayoi looked at her watch and realized that she had somewhere to be. The two bid their farewells and the woman thanked Kagome again for talking to her. After she walked through the door, Kagome was once again, left alone. She pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket and spun it around on the table top, almost inclined to call Sango and wake her up, then decided against it.

The purple cover caught the glare of the sun every time it rotated, boring Kagome even further. Suddenly, it's loud ring broke the silence, and even made her jump in her seat.She quickly grabbed it an answered it.

"Hello?" She asked, the note of surprise still in her voice.

"Hey, Kagome, it's me! I was just wondering if you wanted to go out for coffee or something tonight? I mean, I know you're on vacation and all, but there's this great place not too far from where you're at and I could meet you there. What do ya say?" An energetic boy's voice babbled rather quickly.

"Oh, hey Houjou. I would go, but I'm busy this afternoon." Silence for a moment, then she added, "and this weekend. Sorry." Knowing what his next question would be, she got it out of the way before having to confront it. Houjou was a nice boy, but he was a bit...over-enthusiastic for her.

"Are you sure? I mean, we could arrange for another time if you want, I mean I can-"

Kagome saw Sango walking towards her and took her chance. "Look Houjou, I have to go. I'll talk to you later though, okay?" She hung up, leaving the poor boy to figure it out on his own.

"Sango, you look tired. Didn't get a good night's rest?" Kagome asked her friend, tilting her head to the side to get a better view of her friend's pathetic state.

Sango looked at her friend and ran her fingers through her dark hair and it slipped from her shoulders to lay on her back nicely. "Yeah, well I guess I just have to get used to new surroundings. You know how that is."

She plopped down in the chair that Izayoi occupied not too long ago and stared at the table before lifting her half-opened eyes to her friend. "So, who was that?" She asked, nodding her head at Kagome's cell phone.

Kagome hung her mouth open for a minute, knowing what Sango would say after she responded. "Just Houjou." She said casually.

"You should date him. He's sweet, Kagome. And he obviously likes you." Sango shrugged. "I just don't see why you won't go out with him. A lot of girls like him, and every one of them is jealous of you. But no, you have to be all stubborn." She grabbed a tater tot off of Kagome's plate and tossed it in her mouth.

Kagome crossed her arms. "I am not being stubborn. I'm just...picky." Sango raised an eyebrow and grabbed another tater tot, this time, seeing the ketchup and dipping it in there before sticking it in her mouth. "He's too...smothering. He's always there, Sango! He's too nice."

Sango snorted, and nearly spat out the orange juice she had also snagged from Kagome. "Too nice? Kagome, I don't think there is such a thing. Just give him a try." She said, attempting to get the liquid that had splattered on her t-shirt out, ultimately to no avail.

Kagome gave her friend a sarcastic glare, and then her cell phone rang. "Man, am I popular today or what?" She said, grabbing it and answering it.

"Hello?" She asked cheerfully.

"Are you mad at me?" The voice asked.

Kagome glanced at Sango and noticed her watching. "Never dear." She answered through gritted teeth.

The voice sighed. "Look, are we ever going to talk about this?"

"Whenever you want to." Kagome said, still wary of her friend's inquisitive expression.

"Well, are you willing to meet me somewhere? I just..."

Silence.

Kagome spoke up. "That coffee shop nearby..."

"_The Stuff_...The one not too far up the road?"

"Yeah," Kagome answered. "There would be fine." She said.

"Okay. Tonight, 7 o'clock. Can you be there?"

"I'll find a ride. Don't worry, I'll be there." Kagome said, and then hung up quickly.

Sango looked at her, and the silence made her uneasy. "So, was that Houjou again? Did you agree to go out with him?" She asked.

Kagome looked at her friend and bit her tongue before answering. "Yeah." She simply said with a quick nod. "Um, Sango, if you don't mind, I just remembered something I had to do." She looked down at her plate, still half-full of tater tots. "You can finish those if you want."

Sango watched as her friend got up and left. "Thanks!" She yelled after her friend. Looking at the plate, she decided that she had eaten enough already.

She tucked some of her hair behind her ear as the wind slightly blew it in her face. She stood up and wiped some of the crumbs that had fallen into her lap off. Her flip-flops flopped against the pavement as she made her way through the gardens, admiring all of the flowers as she went by. _So much work must have gone into keeping these up. They all look amazing!_

She stopped in front of the pool and walked over to it. No one else was around, and she didn't see anyone nearby. She had always wanted to jump into a pool without a bathing suit for once. Not exactly nude, but something about wearing something else seemed so rule-breaking and fun.

_What the hell?_ She though, slipping the large t-shirt over her head, leaving her clad in a bra and her panties. She didn't think twice before plunging into the water.

The cold liquid ran over her body, and opening her eyes under its depth, she could see her hair waving above her. She swam a bit, feeling freer than ever. Breaking the surface, she gasped for air and shook her head to rid her face of bothersome water. She waded over to the steps and sat on the second one, so that the water still covered most of her body aside from her head. Glancing up towards the sky, she thought to herself, _I could get used to this every day. I think I'll start taking night swims. I've always wanted to do that._ She stood up and stepped out of the water, warming up her arms as she walked over to her shirt.

_Wait...my shirt._ She scanned the ground for her clothes. _Where the hell is it!_ She gasped and jerked her head around, looking for the culprit.

"Oh dear. This is not good at all." She mumbled, making her way over to some bushes and crouching down and out of anyone's sight. _Now what do I do?_

0o0o0o0

The tall, handsome youkai sniffed the air carefully, but kept a calm appearance, just in case anyone happened to spot him. The person he was really avoiding was his manager. He knew the first thing she'd do was bombard him with, "Sesshoumaru, you idiot! Where the hell were you? You had three interviews this afternoon, and didn't show up for a single one! What are you thinking?" or something along that line.

He was heading towards the gardens. He could hide out there for a while and stay out of the line of fire. He usually found arguments a waste of time. But sometimes, arguing with Kagura was such a tiring task. He really did hate it. He hated a lot of things, but he hated arguing with her the most. Not that he would ever let that be known.

Entering the gardens, he mused around in deep thought, with that pretty nose stuck up in the air. This was his trademark, as no one else could pull it off as well as he did. He was, quite possibly, the most gorgeous male in the whole country of Japan. Some rabid fan-girls would even go as far to say the world.

His mind was on a dream he had the previous night - something about throwing some crazy toad stalker up in to a tree and leaving him there to find his own way to get un-stuck and down from the high branches - when his sensitive inu-youkai nose picked up on something. Human. Human and chlorine. He turned to the accusing bush, that was radiating the strange smell.

"Who are you, and why are you hiding in the bushes?" His silky voice laced the air, and for a moment the birds fell silent, as if they were waiting for the bush to reply.

Suddenly, a female's head poked up out of the leaves. The girl looked at him and blushed rapidly. "Hi, I'm Sango. I'm with Kagome...you know, the winner for that..."

"Stupid and pointless contest. Yes, I'm aware of who she is, and as of now, I'm aware of who you are. Still, why are you in the bushes. Or are you humans so easily fascinated?" Sesshoumaru said, with a hint of disgust.

Sango scowled. "No, trust me, these bushes aren't that **interesting**. But someone stole my clothes. Do you think you could...get me something to put on? Please?" She asked, seriously wondering if he'd actually help her.

He saw the doubt in her eyes, and smirked. Having a weak human beg for his help was downright pathetic. More than that, amusing. But lucky for Sango, Sesshoumaru has a weak spot in his heart for poor little humans. Another thing you'd never hear him admit. And if you did hear him admit it, you could rest assured that your demise would soon follow.

He turned away stoutly and walked away. Sango's mouth dropped open in shock and terror. _I can't believe he didn't help me! Okay, maybe I can believe it. But geez, does he have to be such a jerk?_ Now she'd have to wait until someone else came by. Just another chance for someone to mock her. Boy, was she scoring lucky today.

No sooner had she thought that, a soft white robe was thrown on her head. She shoved it off of her head and glared at the person who threw it and then gasped.

"I thought you wanted something. Be lucky and wipe that horrible look off of your face. I can take it back just as easily." Sesshoumaru scolded coldly.

Sango quickly tied it around her and stood up, finally stretching her sore legs. She turned to the youkai with a smile. "Thanks. Really, that was kind of you."

Sesshoumaru just stared at her, never changing his expression. He turned away from her, leaving her to make his way to the gardens. He let out a small smile, one that of course, no one would ever see.

0o0o0o0

Whew. For some reason, I kept getting stuck in certain places. So, I finally got Sesshoumaru into the story. And Kagome has a date. Good? No good? Please, tell. There's a little purple button down at the bottom. I know you wanna click it and tell me what you think. Right?

Another thing. My friend DramaQueenABZ has a new fic out. So you should go check that out, because it's worth the read.

Thank you-

**robin's clone: **Don't worry, it's okay if you're confused. It will all make sense in time. Is Inuyasha remembering Kagome? Quite possibly. Who is Kagome remembering? Oh, if I gave you the answers it would ruin the fun. Just don't die. I don't want the suspense to kill anyone.

**Zoderella: **lol. I'm glad you love it. That makes me smile when people say that. So you know what's going on? (Hands Zoderella a cookie) Just don't tell anyone, ok?

**DramaQueenABZ:** Thank you, thank you, thank you. I can never thank you enough! And you're right about the flashbacks. But of course background info is always helpful..hehe.

**Keoi: **I'm glad it makes more sense now. See, I told you guys it would!

**InukagXOXO: **I'm glad you liked it. Here's you another update!

**L1Ldumie TK: **Thank you much!

**Kura-chan: **Thank you so much for all of the reviews! They were lovely.

Alright, till next update! Hope everyone's having a great summer so far!


	6. The Date

1Disclaimer: Nope, don't own it.

Sorry it's been so long. Half you people probably thought I was dead. 0.0 I promise I'm not, I've just been extremely busy. On another note..Houjou? Who ever said her date was **Houjou**? (Evil grin). Just to forewarn you, this might be one of the most confusing chapters yet. But next chapter might clarify things up a bit, so don't fret yet.

Chapter 6: The Date

The evening was just beginning, and the birds were starting to silence their songs and calls. The day was fading slowly as Kagome stepped out of the car and told the chauffeur that she would find her own ride home. She waved slightly before turning toward the coffee shop and looked at the neon blue lettering on the roof of the quaint building.

After glancing around quickly, she walked towards the door and pulled it open. She stood in the doorway for a moment, then finally saw her date sitting alone in a dark corner. Weaving through the tables and chairs, and the few customers there, she quickly sat down at the table. He nodded his head in greeting and Kagome muttered a "hello."

They sat there in silence until a waiter came up and asked what they wanted. Neither of them were really hungry, but Kagome did order a frappuccino. After the man left, again, silence fell upon their table.

Kagome sighed audibly. "Look, you wanted to talk to me, but if you aren't going to say anything, I'll take my yummy frap and leave. I could be out having fun with Sango, ya know." She crossed her arms and waited for the boy across from her to respond to her demand.

He looked like he was in deep thought, and for a moment didn't say anything at all. Finally, he lifted his deep eyes to meet hers. Her heart skipped a beat and she inhaled sharply, enough to make her lungs sting.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly, lowering his head once he had said it.

Kagome looked confused, and wasn't sure she had heard him correctly. "What?" She questioned, leaning over the table to make sure she caught what he said this time.

He slammed his hands on the table and leaned down to her level. "I said, I'm sorry."

Their noses hovered inches from each other, and a quick blush spread over Kagome's cheeks due to the closeness. His eyes bore into her melting chocolate orbs.

"Ma'am, your frappuccino..." The waiter set the drink on the table near Kagome, as her and her date both darted up to strict sitting positions.

"Oh, yeah, thank you." She said curtly.

The boy stood there for a moment and looked between the couple at the table before asking,

"Excuse me, but...are you _the_ Inuyasha?"

The teenager sitting with Kagome rolled his eyes. "No, I'm the _other _Inuyasha."

Kagome slumped back in her chair. _Great. He was doing fine for a while. He was quiet, and even apologized. Now this kid's got him a foul mood again._

After scribbling his name down on a napkin for their waiter, Inuyasha looked back to Kagome, intending to continue their conversation.

"Sorry about that." He mumbled, motioning his head toward the receding boy.

Kagome looked shocked, and quickly shook her head to rid her face of the expression. "What is with you today?"

"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha asked, raising an eyebrow at her question.

"Well, for one, you're not all angry and stuff. And then you apologized. Not once, but twice. You're acting totally out of character." She was still surprised at the calm look his eyes held.

"I want to talk." He said quietly, taking his eyes off of hers.

"You said that earlier. But really, what's there left to say?" She said coarsely.

He looked at her quickly, then turned away after he saw the pain and confusion in her eyes. "There was a lot I didn't tell you. I said a lot of things I shouldn't have, and a lot of things I didn't mean to say..."

The corner of Kagome's lip turned up a bit into a sarcastic smile. "No, it's alright. I know that you meant everything you said. The truth...it hurts, doesn't it? It's just the way life goes, right? You don't have to worry about me, really. I understood it a long time ago." She grabbed her drink and stood up quickly. Turning her back on him, she walked briskly to the door and pulled it open harshly.

Once she was outside, she looked up to face the clear sky. Her eyes stung with unshed tears as she leaned up against the brick building. She closed her eyes to force them away and inhaled slowly to clear her mind.

She felt someone shift beside her and turned to face them. Standing next to her was the one person that she swore she had just run away from.

"Leave me alone!" She yelled, turning to leave him once more.

He grabbed her wrist and tugged her to a halt. "Hey, wait! I wasn't done talking to you!"

Kagome spun on her heals to face him. "Well I'm done talking to you! I knew this was a mistake! **You** were a mistake!"

Without thinking, Inuyasha grabbed her shoulders, and in a quick motion, pressed his lips against hers to silence her. Her raging ceased and washed away.

Her scent overflowed him, and he was drowning in the taste of her soft lips. In seconds, he had filled a void that had been swallowing him for the longest time.

After a moment, he slowly lifted his head to look into her dark brown eyes, swirling with utter confusion.

A minute of complete silence passed. "What...what's going on?" Kagome finally asked. Her hand squeezed his arm, since she hadn't removed it yet after placing it there during their quick heated moment.

A car went by, and Inuyasha waited for the headlights to pass before trying to explain. "Something...happened."

Kagome scoffed. "Well, thank you Mr. Obvious." She said sarcastically.

He disregarded her sarcasm for once, and tried to find a way to explain everything to her. _She deserves to know. She deserves to know everything._ He sat down on the curb and looked up at the sliver of a crescent moon in the velvet night sky. "You remember when we first met, how we got along so well?" He asked.

Kagome placed herself down beside him, watching the same moon. "Inuyasha, that was years ago. A lot has happened since then. People change over time. We grew up...a lot. Things went wrong." She mused.

Inuyasha shook his head. "No, **things** didn't go wrong, **I** went wrong."

Kagome looked inquisitively at the hanyou at her side. "What? Please, elaborate, because that doesn't make much sense." She said, completely baffled by his statement.

"You know that I'm half human...but I'm also half demon." He said slowly.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Well, of course." She said, waiting for his point.

"Someone tried to bring out the demon in me. And in order for them to do that, they needed to get you out of the picture." His eyes met hers sharply.

0o0o0o0

Kargura's heels clicked on the cold steps as she made her way up the stairway that led to the top of the grand home. She turned the door knob and opened the door, giving her access to the roof top. The squeak it made caught the attention of the other person on the roof. She stood still a moment and eyed them cautiously. Once the man had turned, she took that as her cue to close the door and walked over to his side.

"I know you don't think this is a good idea." She looked at his still expression, and for a moment, it seemed as if she was talking to the night sky alone, rather than him.

Sesshoumaru turned his face toward the woman, and then looked away, turning his nose in the direction of the stars sparkling above them.

Kagura rolled her eyes at the man. "You know this is for the best, Sesshoumaru..."

His eyes darted to meet hers, causing her to jump in her skin. "You are all trying so hard to fix him. But did you ever stop to think, that the effect might be the complete opposite? Can you truly fathom exactly how he will react?"

He let the thought sink in, and continued when she didn't retaliate. "What you're doing may bring about more damage than good. You might break him...and once you do, his heart will never mend."

Kagura turned away from the inu demon and closed her eyes, considering what he said. "When did you start to care about what happened to Inuyasha?" She asked, honestly curious about when Sesshoumaru started developing feelings for...well...anything.

Sesshoumaru snorted. "Despite what you may think, he is my younger brother. Though at times I disown him as kin, I'm not completely cold-hearted."

Kagura faced him for a moment, a slight smile gracing her lips. She crossed her arms in front of her and shifted her weight from one foot to the other, and cocked her head to the side as she did so. "Oh, of course. Not _completely _cold-hearted...Just partially, right?" She said jokingly.

He glared at her momentarily, the quickly turned his nose away from her again.

Kagura rolled her eyes at his back and, shaking her head, turned and silently left him to his thoughts. As she shut the door behind her, declining the stairs, she thought hard about what Sesshoumaru had said. _He's right,_ she thought. _What we're doing...this could shatter his soul completely. Nonetheless, we have to put our complete trust in this girl. After all, she's his last hope._

0o0o0o0

Deep, red eyes glowered from the inside of a car hiding in some brush. The neon lights of _The Stuff_ reflected off the darkly tinted windows, and the car's occupant frowned distastefully at the scene unfolding in front of him. _That girl again. She nearly ruined my plan once, and now again she's back in my way._ The man snarled at the thought. _I really don't like getting my hands dirty._ He sighed and shoved his hand in his pocket to dig out his cell phone.

Punching in the digits, he waited a few seconds until someone picked up. "It's been a long time since I've spoken to you last...too long." He smirked wickedly, "I have a job for you, and the pay's good, so I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself." His smirk grew into a twisted smile, and he had to refrain himself from letting out a hideous cackle. Explaining the job, he placed his phone back into his pocket.

Shifting gears, he slowly drove back onto the intended road and drove past _The Stuff_ as the blue lights to the shop flickered before turning off. Seconds after, a newer neon glow appeared in the window, this one, read "Closed."

0o0o0o0

Kagome quietly closed the door to her room and slipped off her shoes. She slowly walked over to her bed and plopped down onto the soft mattress. She stared at the wall opposite her, deep in thought. Once again, memories she would rather keep suppressed forced their way to the surface of her conscious. She fell back onto the light comforter and closed her eyes, letting it all wash over her in a rush.

_The little girl looked around for her mother, crying and sitting on the cold, wet cement in a pathetic heap. Wiping her eyes, she stood up on two shaking legs and tried to remember what had happened. One minute, she was tugging on her mom's coat sleeve, adoring a doll in the toy store window. She let go to place both hands and her face on the clean glass. Next she turned around to ask her mother to buy it, but her mother was nowhere to be found._

_She looked through dripping bangs and watched the people around her, searching for a familiar face._

"_Mama!" She cried out, "Mama, where are you?"_

Kagome rolled over on her bed, turning her attention to another wall.

"_Are you lost?" A boy's voice made the girl turn around. He was holding an umbrella out, offering her space underneath it._

_She hopped under, getting out of the rain. Wiping the water away from her eyes with her already dampened sleeves, she looked at the boy for the first time. His molten eyes and white hair fascinated her. But what really interested her were the two fuzzy dog ears that sat atop his head. Staring at them for a moment, she realized she was being rude and decided to turn her eyes to his once more._

"_I can't find my mother." She said quietly._

_The boys brows creased as he looked down at the distressed girl in front of him. "If you want...my driver can drive you home. It's not safe for you to be wandering the streets on your own. You mom will be worried about you. How 'bout it?"_

_She looked up at him, her eyes shining as a large smile brightened her face. "Thank you so much!" She said, grasping his hands in her smaller ones._

Both the girl and boy standing in the rain, smiled at each other genuinely. For a moment, they shared something with each other: Trust. Little did the children know, that as they grew, that trust would grow also and, eventually, it would meet a climax. But like all highs, it would fall and shatter like a mirror on a hard, frozen ground.

0o0o0o0

Ugh. I think that's the longest period of time I've had writer's block. I mean, I would sit down at the computer every chance I got, which was far and few in between, and nothing would come out. You know when you just kind of..stare at the screen? Yeah, it was like that.

Much thanks to:

**Kura-chan15: **I know, it was about a page shorter than I usually write..so was this chapter. I've been so busy lately that I'm getting to the point I'll just have to submit what I have when I have the chance though. I do hate that I'm not writing as much. But I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last!

**ShikonMagic: **Thank you! Here's your update.

**Zoderella: **hehe. Everyone loves getting cookies. Hope your happy about her date..well..it wasn't pretty, but at least it wasn't Houjou, right?

**Karen: **I'm glad you like it! Yes, it is rather confusing. But I'm getting to where it'll start to make more sense soon. Hope you enjoy!

**Moonlight Stars: **Thank you so much for the lovely review!

**L1Ldumie TK: **lol. I totally agree. Houjou isn't worth her time. That's why she didn't go out with him.

**DramaQueenABZ: **I don't even know what made me do the Sango thing, but I had a lot of fun writing it. I doubt I'll ever pair Sango up with Sesshoumaru though. Something about that makes me laugh so hard. And as you already know..you're the only person who guessed who Kagome's date was. Do people think I'm that evil? Lol.

**Saholia: **lol. Thank you for the review! Here's your update!

Till next time everyone!


	7. Remember Me

1Wow. I've been so busy. I'm very sorry to those that have been waiting for an update, and I thank you all for your patience. I've been very busy taking care of a lot here. I don't have time to explain, nor do I feel the need to. Just know I'm sorry about it. This chapter is extremely short, only about half the length of the rest, I believe...but I really haven't had time to write. Again, I'm sorry. But here's the update.

Chapter 7: Remember Me

"_Inuyasha, hurry up!" A young girl, probably about ten years old stood at the end of a pier, jutting out from the shore. She looked back at a silver haired boy running towards her, his small feet thumping along the wooden planks of the pier._

"_I'm coming!" He growled back at her. Jolting to a stop beside her, they both leaned over the rail at the disappearing sun._ _"What's so great about a **sunset**?" The boy asked, holding an expression of slight disappointment._

_The girl scowled at him and then rolled her eyes dramatically. "Boys don't understand real beauty when they see it, do they?" She asked rhetorically._

_Inuyasha glanced at her, hoping to catch her eye, but her attention had once more been diverted to the setting sun spectacle. The wind whipped around her face in a flattering manner, and her eyes sparkled in the dimming light.Kagome may have been right. Maybe he didn't knowreal beauty whenhe saw it. All heknew, was thatshe was beautiful in his eyes._

"_Keh. Whatever." Was all he was capable of mustering, his slight blush hidden in the pink hue of the atmosphere._

_Suddenly the girl grabbed his hand. "Come on, let's get back! My mom's cooking your favorite tonight and I don't want to miss it!" She darted off in a run, dragging him behind._

"_Hey, Kagome, slow down!" Inuyasha yelled, nearly stumbling at first, but finally catching up with her pace, not letting go of her hand. As long as he held on, he'd be alright._

0o0o0o0

Inuyasha jolted upright in bed, panting heavily. Sweat trickled down his flawlessface as he finally caught his breath. He threw the maroon sheets from his bed and stumbled in to his bathroom. He flicked on the lights and winced as the brightness of them.

"She was mine." He muttered in disbelief, while leaning on the marble topped counter . "She was mine, and I lost her." He turned the faucet on and splashed cool water on his face. He studied his reflection, watching the water drip from his chin, then shook his light bangs out of his eyes, letting them gleam as an idea crept through his mind.

His canines glistened tauntingly. "I lost her...but I'll win her back..."

Inuyasha turned off the bathroom light and pattered over to the balcony door. He opened it quietly, and let the crisp summer air flow through his silver tresses. "I'll win her back," he smirked.

0o0o0o0

Kagome tossed and turned in bed, unable to find a comfortable sleeping position. She finally sat up and glared at the clock next to her bed. _11:57. Almost midnight._ She sighed heavily and slipped herself out of bed.

The girl made her way to her bathroom and rinsed her face off. She looked at her reflection carefully. She was tired...very tired...but you couldn't tell it by looking at her young face. Even in a half dazed state, she looked fresh and bright. She quickly ran her fingers through her raven hair, fluffing it up a bit and getting rid of the bed-head look. Her shoulders slumped as she tried to think of something to do to entertain herself at this hour without waking the whole household up. After three seconds of pondering, she decided it was pointless, and made up her mind to go back to bed and try to find someway to get to sleep.

Upon exiting the bathroom though, she noticed the air was different. She looked toward her balcony door, and noticed it was ajar. _Now...I know I didn't leave that open._ She walked toward it and stood in the doorway momentarily. "Maybe I didn't close it all the way and the wind blew it open." She mused to herself quietly.

She glanced up at the moon, and it's fullnesscaught her attention.

"Or maybe..." an unfamiliar voice shattered the silent night, "you **did** close it all the way, and I just broke in."

Kagome whirled around quickly with wide eyes. Her scream didn't even have time to leave her lips before a firm hand was placed over her mouth, muffling any noise that may have escaped.

0o0o0o0

Inuyasha jumped from his balcony and landed quietly onto Kagome's. Surprisingly, her balcony door was already open. _Odd._ He thought to himself. He sniffed the air quickly, trying to catch her scent. His eyes widened in shock. _She's not in her room._ He ran into her room to verify what his instinct had already told him. She wasn't there. He looked toward her door, quickly glancing at the doorknob, he saw it was still locked. _Which means she didn't leave her room that way...which only leaves one way._ He walked onto the balcony again and looked down. _She wouldn't make that jump. She's splatter...and there's no splattered Kagome down there._ He sniffed the air again, concentrating on catching her scent in the wind.

"Gotcha."

Inuyasha leapt from the balcony onto the concrete three floor below him. He glanced around to make sure no one was watching him, then bound off through the garden and over the gate where the mansion's ground met the wilderness.

_Kagome...what the hell happened to you?_ Inuyasha thought, running through the foliage, desperately searching for the lost girl.

0o0o0o0

_I've been kidnaped!_ Kagome thought for the hundredth time that night. She sat on the cool cave floor and eyed her captor wearily. He was actually quite attractive. His long dark hair was pulled back into a long braid. His bright eyes looked her over, and she just pouted. She had given up screaming for help after she realized they were in the woods, far away from the mansion.

Kagome glanced up at him from her spot on the ground. _Why do all the hot guys have to be evil or something?_ Her thoughts began to disperse from those of being kidnaped, and concentrated more on wiggling her toes to wake her feet up, which had fallen asleep since she'd been sitting on them for quite some time now.

"Hey." The captor's voice made Kagome jump in her skin.

"Yeah?" She looked at him inquisitively.

"You hungry?" He asked."I dunno how long we'll be here. I'm waiting for someone to come get you...but until then, I don't see any point in starving you."

Kagome's jaw dropped a little. Since when did bad guys offer you food? _Come to think of it, I am a bit hungry._

"Sure." She replied before chuckling, "I never knew being kidnaped made me so hungry, haha."

Her kidnapper just looked at her blankly. "Yeah...well, all I have is an energy bar...but..."

"Don't worry about it, food's food, right?" Kagome chirped.

Once again, the attractive male just stared at her, seemingly unable to find anything to say to thesurprisingly optimistic girl.

He untied her wrists and handed her the bar. Sitting down beside her, he opened one for himself and bit into it.

Kagome chewed on hers and watched him with curiosity. "So..." she finally spoke up again, "what's your name?" She asked.

He kept his eyes on the entranceway to the cave, answering her without even looking at her. "Hiten." He replied shortly.

"Well, Hiten. Why am I being kidnaped? I don't remember doing anything wrong to anyone. Well...wrong enough to be kidnaped over. And I'm not important enough to be held hostage for anything, it's not like there's any wealth on my life." Kagome tried to pry as much information out of him as she possibly could.

The wind echoed through the hollow cave, making an eerie sound. Kagome shivered.

"I think the value of your life is important enough to someone. Otherwise I wouldn't be kidnaping you, would I? As for **why** I'm kidnaping you, I myself have no idea. Naraku just said he needed you. I don't know what the hell you did to get mixed up with him...but whatever it was, it was a bad move on your part."

Kagome's jaw remained in a dropped position for a good five minutes before she was able to babble out, "Naraku? I don't even know a Naraku! Look, I think you've got the wrong girl. Honestly." She shook her head violently, trying to remember a Naraku in her past, but, to no avail.

Hiten raised an eyebrow at the frazzled girl. "You're the Kagome that's with Inuyasha, right?" He asked.

Kagome just nodded her head. "Then you're the right kid."

Kagome slumped down and frowned. _How is it that I don't even do anything to this guy and he wants me for...I don't even know what he wants me for! This is ridiculous. How did I get mixed up in this. This is insane...it's insane!_

Suddenly her head popped up. "Maybe it doesn't have to do with me."

"_You remember when we first met, how we got along so well?" He asked._

_Kagome placed herself down beside him, watching the same moon. "Inuyasha, that was years ago. A lot has happened since then. People change over time. We grew up...a lot. Things went wrong." She mused._

_Inuyasha shook his head. "No, **things** didn't go wrong, **I** went wrong."_

_Kagome looked inquisitively at the hanyou at her side. "What? Please, elaborate, because that doesn't make much sense." She said, completely baffled by his statement._

"_You know that I'm half human...but I'm also half demon." He said slowly._

_Kagome rolled her eyes. "Well, of course." She said, waiting for his point._

"_Someone tried to bring out the demon in me. And in order for them to do that, they needed to get you out of the picture." His eyes met hers sharply._

Kagome sat up even straighter. "Maybe it has nothing to do with me, and everything to do with..."

0o0o0o0

I know. Not long at all. But as previously stated,a lot's been going on in my life, and the way I look at it...an update's an update. I'm very sorry for the long wait.

gahhhh. And I started the chapter months ago, but just got around to finishing it. I'll try to update as soon as I possibly can, but I can't guarantee when that'll be.

Thanks again to everyone who's supporting me still :)


	8. Found

1Disclaimer: I haven't written one of these in forever. NONE of these characters belong to me.

Chapter 8: Found

Inuyasha fled through the foliage, leaves and branches meshing with the night sky to create a muddy blur. The faint light of the moon wasn't even his guide; it was her scent. He wouldn't let it fade. He couldn't lose her.

The wind ceased and he came to a steady stop, searching the air desperately. He was beginning to get aggravated with himself. The human blood that ran through his veins did him little good in times of panic. Whereas a full blooded demon would be overcome with animal instincts and heighten his senses, the human in him dulled them and tuned in to his emotions.

Inuyasha wasn't keen on the idea of "gut instinct," as his mother called it. _This is NOT a time for guessing games, I need to know where she is NOW!_

As the thought pulsed through him, it was as if the wind sensed his urgency and picked up again.

He had her again. And once again, the blur around him began as he took off after the sweet trail, determined not to stop again.

0o0o0o0

"So, what do you know about this Naraku guy? I mean, I'm still trying to figure out how I could tie into anything related to him." Kagome pressed her captor for information. Or maybe she was just trying to keep the silence away. She hated empty moments, they lasted too long. The moments definitely dragged on when you didn't have any way to entertain yourself. Being tied up was not as scary as it was portrayed in movies, but it was very boring.

Hiten finished the paragraph of the book he was reading before looking up to answer the girl. _She is cute for a human, but I'll be damned if she doesn't shut up._

"I don't know much about him. He's a producer...does a lot of reality TV shows. He keeps a low profile though...does a lot of under the table work, ya know? He has people everywhere, so he's not a guy to be messed with. He's a notorious blackmailer from what I hear. A man who gets what he wants by any means." He studied Kagome's plain figure. "I can guarantee you didn't do anything to him, but you're important to someone who did."

The silence fell between them again and Kagome pouted. _I have a feeling...a bad feeling. I don't understand what's going on. I'm sure Inuyasha is involved. I used to be important to him, so maybe this Naraku character is planning to use me as leverage. _Her pout morphed into a grimace. _Great. I don't mean much to Inuyasha anymore though! He'll just laugh at the guy and tell him a dog bone would have been more effective._

She slumped her shoulders and sighed, resolving herself to ponder over how exactly she was going to get out of this situation unscathed, since she was pretty sure she couldn't rely on Inuyasha for help.

0o0o0o0

The scent was getting stronger. She was close. Very close. Inuyasha ground his teeth together and clenched his fists as he ripped through the makeshift "wall" of leaves and sticks at the entrance to the quaint cave.

A few things happened at once: Kagome heard a crackling sound like a sharp thunder to her left as leaves and twigs fell around her. Hiten was up on his feet in two seconds, and then slammed against the wall by a flashing fist one second prior to that. The leaves were still fluttering around her when a strong arm grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her up over a muscled shoulder.

Hiten looked up only to see Kagome's confused expression watching him as she was carried off. She was gone. Finally the leaves finished falling to the cold ground, and he realized his stolen prize had just been repossessed. Naraku would not be pleased.

0o0o0o0

Kagome was frazzled and wasn't sure of much, but she was sure of three things: She was sure she wasn't in Hiten's care any longer. She was sure Inuyasha had stormed in like a tornado to rescue her. She was absolutely sure she was about to be sick.

"Inuyasha..." she managed to mumble. His acute hearing heard the low plea and he slowed down, balancing both of their weight on a broad tree branch. He let her climb off his shoulder and steady herself, all the while never letting go of her hand.

Kagome leaned against the trunk and slid down with a plop. She didn't dare look down, afraid of how high up she might actually be. _If I pass out and fall, I'd rather not know how fatal the fall may be..._

Inuyasha watched her pale complexion as an array of emotions played across her face. There was silence though. He waited, knowing it wouldn't last long.

"Inuyasha, who is Naraku?" Her dark eyes shot through him, waiting for an explanation. He wasn't quite sure where to begin. He wanted her safe though, so for now he would paraphrase. He would explain everything to her later.

She watched as he inhaled deeply. She could tell he was searching for words...he was never good with words, having to think them out carefully if he wanted them to come out as intended, which they rarely did because he hardly ever thought before speaking.

"You know those mob movies where there's always that super rich mob leader character who uses people's past and history as leverage to get what they want out of people?" Inuyasha prompted. Kagome nodded her head, not really sure where this was going. "He's kind of like that. His name means money. Money means power. He has a lot of it."

Kagome was still slightly confused. Her raven hair feel off her shoulder as her head shook. "A lot of what, power or money?"

"Both." Inuyasha answered blatantly.

"What does that have to do with me?" She questioned.

The hanyou bit his lip, trying to answer the same question himself. "I'm not sure. I, uh...I pissed him off once. He's a vindictive bastard. He can't get anything out of me now except to satisfy his revenge. Obviously he thinks you would be a nice pawn in his payback game."

Those chocolate orbs of hers widened. "Is he really that dangerous? I didn't think people like that existed in the real world."

Inuyasha's laugh startled her a little. "Sweetheart, this is a world of lights, camera, action...it's nothing like the real world." He let those words sink in as the realization set in and Kagome came to the conclusion, _great, not only am I involved with a mob-character, I'm stuck in a world where this kind of behavior is accepted. I thought I was done with the drama, I swear, this lifestyle is like a soap opera!_

"We should go back." His coarse voice brought her back to reality...the reality that she had just been kidnaped (and saved), and that there was still the potential for danger. She nodded her head in compliance as the sun slowly began to filter out and over into the valley.

She crawled on to his back, holding on tightly as the leaves flew passed them in a wisp.

0o0o0o0

Miroku strolled down the long corridor, expecting to run into no one, spare a maid maybe. Which is why he was caught off guard when he heard talking coming from the stairs a few doors ahead of him. He crept up to the corner slowly, trying to distinguish the two voices.

"So what do we do, act like nothing happened?" That was Kagome's...though he couldn't depict the emotion undertone. Anger, concern, fear maybe.

Then the other person responded, "for now. I don't think it will happen again any time soon." Inuyasha's voice was hushed.

"Well then, I'm going to go change. I look rough..." Kagome's voice climbed the stairs and Miroku ducked into the nearest unlocked door until her footsteps passed. He sighed. _What are those two up to I wonder..._

0o0o0o0

Sango sauntered out to the patio for breakfast, noticing the cute lecher was the only person occupying the table. She approached it cautiously, ready to gift him with another slap if need be. He seemed to be lost in thought when she sat down though, not even noticing her until she spoke to him.

"Miroku, was it? Mind passing me the orange juice, please?"

He blinked hard and his gaze snapped to her. Once again she couldn't help but notice how deep his eyes seemed. She flushed, realized she was staring, and slammed her glass on the table for emphasis on the fact she wanted orange juice.

The boy grinned and poured the juice into her glass. "Do thoughts of me excite you that much, my dear? You seem to blush at all of our encounters. A thought is merely a thought, but if you'd like, I would be more than happy to help turn those thoughts into reality." He leaned towards her suggestively.

"Are you always this perverted?" Sango asked disgustedly.

Miroku leaned back in his chair and pouted, "I thought it was romantic..." he mused. Sango rolled her eyes at him and took a bite out of her toast. His head perked up as she took a second bite. "Speaking of which, do you know if anything happened between Inuyasha and your friend?"

"I beg'ur pard'n?" Sango asked, through chews.

"Well, it's just I overheard the two talking this morning, and it seems as if something has transpired that neither of them want anyone else to know about. I was just wondering if you knew about it."

Sango gulped the toast down and took a sip of juice. "No...I was under the impression they weren't to fond of each other."

Miroku looked thoughtful for a moment. "Think it's an act?" He asked.

"What do you mean? Like, they just pretend to hate each other...maybe to distract people from what's really going on between them?" Sango prompted.

"There's something going on between them?" Miroku looked bewildered.

Sango shook her head, "I don't know, you're the one that insinuated something was."

Their eyes locked for a moment as they both racked their brains to try to figure out what their best friends were up to. _Why would they hide anything from me?_

"You two look like you're enjoying your breakfast. What's up?" Kagome's chipper voice broke both Miroku and Sango's thoughts as they looked up from their plates.

Sango jumped up from her seat and grabbed her best friend by the shoulders, "Kagome! You slept with Inuyasha!"

"Do WHAT?!" Kagome shrieked, birds flew from a nearby tree and the patio fell dead silent.

0o0o0o0

Okay, so I know it's been forever, but I really hate to not finish things I start. So I am going to attempt to continue this story. For any of my old readers (if you're still alive out there) I'm sorry for my hiatus. To any new readers, thank you so much for giving this a try.

I'm sure my writing style has changed, hopefully matured. I'm going to be trying to be more active with my writing though, so hopefully I can get another chapter written and up within a decent time period :]


	9. Unanswered and Answered Questions

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha and co. I merely play with their personalities for my own amusement.

Chapter 9: Unanswered and Answered Questions

Sesshoumaru looked up from his desk momentarily, certain his ears had just been ravished with an unwelcome shrill. _What the hell was that just now…sounded like a dying animal._

"…Sesshomaru, are you paying any attention at all?" Kagura threw an assortment of papers on the desk between the two of them with an exasperated expression crossing her face. She was starting to get annoyed with him. She called him to her office today to discuss serious business matters - matters concerning his family and the reputation of it, and throughout the entirety of him being there his expression had not changed once except to glare accusingly at the window.

The handsome youkai turned his incredibly gold eyes to match her gaze. She stuck her lip out in a pout, waiting for his nonchalant response.

"You didn't hear that?" Was his deadpan reply.

The wind sorceress' fist clenched and she tried to keep her cool, unsuccessfully. "Hear what? I've been trying to explain this situation to you for the past half hour. Have you heard a word I said? I have been speaking! What else are you paying attention to, because it sure as hell isn't me!" Her eyes blazed, furious with his indiscrete lack of attention.

He stood up, cool eyes not once dropping from her fiery ones. "I have listened to what you have to say. Though I don't see any reason why this concerns me; the matter strictly concerns my brother. His image is a matter for Kikyou, am I wrong?"

Kagura's glare intensified as she growled, "he is your brother for God's sake, what's wrong with you? You know as well as I do that your father would overreact, I thought out of the two who could protect him you would do the best job and handle the situation properly, but you won't even do that for the sake of family? I thought you were a man; you're just a cold animal, aren't you, Sesshoumaru?"

The man looked at the woman in front of him coldly, knowing she was trying to instigate him. He was unwilling to give in though, he was not going to compromise his demeanor for the likes of his mess of a half brother. "Inuyasha does not need my protecting, nor would he want it if I offered. If that ingrate brother of mine desires my assistance, and I will tell you now that he will not seek it, he knows where to find me. Furthermore, Kagura, do not forget that I AM an inu youkai; human characteristics such as compassion do not course through my animal heart."

"Animal heart, huh?" Kagura cocked her head mockingly. "So I wonder, does that make you weak? Since you are incapable of reaching the same emotional limit your father has reached; or does that just make you afraid of giving into the Labrador in you while you persist on being a Chihuahua?"

Sesshoumaru whipped his head around to protest, but Kagura beat him to the punch once more. "I don't care either way. I just know your dear father would be furious if things got out of control, and you know what I'm talking about. We went through hell seven times to clean up the mess Naraku made once before trying to make his money off the Tenou name, I refuse to let it happen again and I expect your cooperation, whether you want to play nice or not. There is no compromise."

A moment of silence elapsed between the couple of hard headed demons standing in the spacious office. Not a sound or breath was wasted as Sesshoumaru turned his back to the frowning woman and walked out the door with a scowl to match hers.

0o0o0o0

By the time Kagome had calmed her friend down and kindly explained to the gawking pair in front of her that she had in fact NOT slept with the "super jerky, rude, obnoxious, egocentric, uncompassionate, callous, stupid Inuyasha," the named hanyou had ventured outside as well to see what the ruckus was all about.

"What the hell would give you that idea, Miroku?" The young man directed at his elder friend.

Miroku exchanged an uncertain glance with Sango, who bit her bottom lip warily in response. "Well, it's just that I had overheard a conversation between you and Kagome. I highly misinterpreted the whole ordeal, evidently. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed that this lovely and promising young lady would degrade herself to one who is, as she says, 'super jerky, rude, obnoxious, egocentric, uncompassionate, callous and stupid.' Never again will I make such a mistake," he finished with a dazzling smile.

"Keh," Inuyasha retorted. "Gee, Kagome, am I really that bad?" He asked bemused.

Kagome flipped her raven hair as she rolled her eyes in exaggeration. "I was trying to get my point across. I thought Sango was going to hunt you down and beat the living daylights out of you."

"Thanks for your concern…it's so evident from the name calling."

"Anytime."

"But seriously, don't you think you could only stick to one insult for every time my name is brought up?"

"I could, but as soon as you come to mind I'm just overwhelmed and can't control my negativity."

"I must come to mind a lot then."

"What makes you say that?"

"You've developed quite a list there."

"My vocabulary is just more expansive that yours."

"Keh."

"I rest my case."

With that being said, Kagome grabbed a muffin from the table and meandered off. Inuyasha crossed his arms and stomped off in the opposite direction. Sango and Miroku waited until their friends were well out of hearing range and sight before letting out audible sighs.

"She really does like him." Sango said, resuming her breakfast.

Miroku nodded his head as he poured himself another cup of coffee and added a little bit of hazelnut creamer. "It's safe to say he also has feelings for her."

A cool voice caused both teenagers to jump in their seats. "You surely wouldn't assume it by listening to them though, would you?"

"Kikyou!" Miroku exclaimed. "Were you trying to give us heart attacks?"

The young woman laughed lightly. "I'm sorry. Though I was trying to rest on the veranda, it was you lot that nearly gave me a heart attack."

Sango dipped her head before looking at Kikyou. "Sorry, we did get a little loud…"

"Oh, no, it's not a problem at all. No need to apologize. I was just surprised." Kikyou sat down across the pair and helped herself to the overflowing assortment of breakfast foods. "My curiosity is piqued though…how can you explain affection between those two? Not that it's my business, but overhearing their recent exchange of words…"

The brunette snickered before explaining, "Kagome's the kind of person who is kindhearted and nice to everyone. You can tell when she really cares about someone though when she's not afraid to be rough with them. It's not that she's being mean as much as she's just telling him how she feels…minus the fact that she likes him, but she'll never admit that."

"As for Inuyasha, you just have to look at his face when he sees her. You know as well as I do he's not the kind of guy who shows his kindness well verbally; he's expressive though. Not to mention the fact that he jokes around with her quite a bit," Miroku added of his friend. Sango nodded agreeingly.

Kikyou chewed on her bagel and took a sip of her tea before continuing the conversation. "You two know your friends very well, and it's obvious you care about them."

Miroku's countenance gravened and Sango looked inquisitively at the woman in front of her.

"Please, during your stay, keep in mind that the public is curious about you all. Protect yourselves and your friends. I'm just saying this as a warning. Security around our premises is exceptional, but that won't help against verbal attacks." Kikyou looked up to meet their young gazes and smiled reassuringly. "I want you all to enjoy your time here, and your time shared together; but first and foremost your protection and esteem are my concerns."

Sango raised curious eyebrows. "Esteem?"

The elder girl shifted forward to lean on her elbows and gracefully intertwined her perfectly manicured fingers in front of her. "You and Kagome are good people-"

"Hey!" Miroku interjected.

"I would hate for you two to wind up with a negative image in the tabloids and for either of you to take it to heart," Kikyou continued, ignoring the young man, "but IF anything is said, it can't be helped. I just want you two to stick together and remain honest with each other."

"Oh. Yeah, of course we will," Sango replied, not sure where these pearls of wisdom were coming from. Then again, she found Kikyou to be quite the enigma.

"Good." Kikyou looked at her watch and swiftly stood up. "I'm sorry to have bothered you two. Thank you for your time though. I will be seeing you all again soon. I believe we have a planned event to attend tomorrow night and you are all expected to be there."

Miroku glowed, "Can't wait," he turned his violet eyes on Sango, "we finally get a chance to show the world our love!" He leaned towards her and wasn't too surprised when the girl forcefully brought her fist down on his head, knocking him out of his chair.

"Not likely," Sango spat. Jerking from her seat, she stormed off to get ready for the rest of the day. _Honestly, that boy…_She mumbled to herself as she walked out of the young man's sight.

"You know, Miroku," Kikyou prompted to the boy sprawled on the ground, "a subtle approach may behoove you."

"But what's the fun in that?" He laughed out, more to himself than as a reply to the witty woman, who was shaking her head dismissively and walking away.

0o0o0o0

_It would seem some interesting affairs will arise from this. _Kikyou's heals clicked as she walked down the long corridor that was the West Wing of the estate. _However, I hope things remain in high spirits. I would hate for things to get ugly and cause everyone displeasure._ Her thoughts flitted back to her conversation with Kagura previously that morning and a frown tugged at her lips. _Naraku…what are you plotting? Destruction is all your name ever brings, and I refuse to allow you to corrupt this family and these friends._

She pulled out her cell phone from inside her cropped jacket pocket and quickly dialed a number. After a brief ring the other end connected. "Shippou? I have a favor to ask of you…"

0o0o0o0

I really did mean to update this sooner…Regardless, thank you to my readers! Please, review when you finish. As much as I like compliments, I like critique (most of us writers do. Haha).

I also want to apologize for the length. I write an average of 5 pages usually, this chapter is a bit shorter, but I wanted to stop it where it was. I prefer to leave them with cliffhangers, and yes! I am finally bringing my favorite munchkin into the storyline.


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